Bacterial mechanisms for Cr(VI) resistance and reduction: an overview and recent advances

The interplay between antimicrobial resistance, heavy metal pollution, and the role of microplastics

Environmental pollution with heavy metals (HMs) and microplastics (MPs) could enhance the global health challenge antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Herein, we explore the complicated mechanics of how HMs, MPs, and AMR are interlinked within microbial ecosystems, as well as the co-selection and cross-resistance mechanisms. Unlike antibiotics, HMs have influenced microbial evolution for billions of years, promoting resistance mechanisms that predate antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). At the same time, this conundrum is further complicated by the pervasive spread of MPs in the aquatic and terrestrial environments, acting as substrates for bacterial pathogenic biofilms and accelerates the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs and heavy metal resistance genes (MRGs). This review highlights that HMs such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni) have persistently selected for resistance traits through efflux systems and genetic co-regulation. Together, these interactions are amplified by MPs that create genetic exchange hotspots due to biofilm formation. These dynamics are modulated by organic matter, which serves both as a nutrient source and a mediator of HM bioavailability, directly influencing ARG abundance. Soil and water ecosystems, including riverine systems and landfill leachate, are reservoirs for ARGs and ARG-MRG combinations, with notable contributions originating from anthropogenic activities. This review also emphasizes the urgent need for integrated environmental and public health strategies to mitigate pollutant-driven AMR. This work seeks to approach HMs and MPs as synergistic drivers of AMR such that both HMs and MPs are upstream (causes) levers, a foundation from which future research on sustainable environmental management practices and health policy (One Health Approach), aimed at curbing the spread of resistance determinants can proceed.

Boron-dependent autoinducer-2-mediated quorum sensing stimulates the Cr(VI) reduction of Leucobacter chromiireducens CD49

Traditionally, abiotic factors such as pH, temperature, and initial Cr(VI) concentration have been undoubtedly recognized as the external driving forces that dramatically affect the microbial-mediated remediation of Cr(VI) pollutants. However, concentrating on whether and how the biological behaviors and metabolic activities drive the microbial-mediated Cr(VI) detoxification is a study-worthy but little-known issue. In this study, Leucobacter chromiireducens CD49 isolated from heavy-metal-contaminated soil was identified to tolerate 8000.0 mg/L Cr(VI), and reduce 92.7% of 100.0 mg/L Cr(VI) within 66 h. Kinetic models were developed to determine the arithmetic relationships between Cr(VI) concentration and reaction time, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy exhibited the co-occurrence of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) on the bacterial cell surface. Furthermore, an integrated genomic-transcriptomic study was employed to explore the genetic-level response of strain CD49 to Cr(VI) stress, and most differentially expressed genes in the Cr(VI)-treatment group were enriched in biological process-related pathways, especially in quorum sensing (QS). Under the optimal conditions based on Box-Behnken Design experiments, intriguingly, boron-dependent autoinducer-2 (AI-2)-mediated QS was stimulated after H3BO3 introduction to further improve the biofilm production, biomass, and Cr(VI) reduction efficiency of strain CD49. Additionally, significantly up-regulated expression of genes chrR, chrA, and luxS further indicated the positive effect of AI-2-mediated QS on Cr(VI) reduction. Collectively, the findings pioneeringly present a chain of evidence for QS-stimulated Cr(VI) reduction, which may provide a theoretical basis for future improvement of microbial-mediated Cr(VI) remediation.

Novel Insights into Cr(VI)-Induced Rhamnolipid Production and Gene Expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa RW9 for Potential Bioremediation

Rhamnolipid (RL) is renowned for its efficacy in bioremediating several types of organic and metal contaminants. Nevertheless, there has been a scarcity of studies specifically examining the relationship between this substance and metals, especially in terms of their impact on RL formation and the underlying interaction processes. This study addresses this gap by investigating the RL mechanism in Cr (VI) remediation and evaluating its effect on RL production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa RW9. In this study, P. aeruginosa RW9 was grown in the presence of 10 mg l-1 Cr (VI). We monitored RL yield, congeners distribution, and their ratios, as well as the transcriptional expression of the RL-encoded genes: rhlA, rhlB, and rhlC. Our results revealed that RL effectively reduced Cr (VI) to Cr (III), with RL yield increasing threefold, although with a slight delay in synthesis compared to control cells. Furthermore, Cr (VI) exposure induced the transcriptional expression of the targeted genes, leading to a significant increase in di-RL production. The findings confirm that Cr (VI) significantly impacts RL production, altering its structural compositions and enhancing the transcriptional expression of RL-encoded genes in P. aeruginosa RW9. This study represents a novel exploration of Cr (VI)'s influence on RL production, providing valuable insights into the biochemical pathways involved and supporting the potential of RL in Cr (VI) bioremediation.

Dissecting the Simultaneous Extracellular/Intracellular Contributions to Cr(VI) Reduction under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions Using the Newly Isolating Cr(VI)-Reducing Bacterium of Pseudomonas sp. HGB10

Quantifying extracellular and intracellular contributions to Cr(VI) reduction is crucial for understanding bacterial Cr(VI)-reduction mechanisms. However, this contribution under different oxygen conditions remains largely unexplored. This study quantified the extracellular/intracellular contribution to aerobic and anaerobic Cr(VI) reduction using Pseudomonas sp. HGB10, an isolated Cr(VI)-reducing bacterium, as the experimental model. Interestingly, it was found that the lower anaerobic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) does not necessarily imply a lower anaerobic Cr(VI)-reduction rate for HGB10. For the initial Cr(VI) concentration of 20 mg L-1, the maximum anaerobic Cr(VI)-reducing rate reached 100%, while the aerobic counterpart was only 75%, even though the value of the aerobic MIC (400 mg L-1) is twice that of the anaerobic (200 mg L-1). Additionally, the calculated extracellular contributions to aerobic and anaerobic Cr(VI) reduction were 10.76% and 55.71%, respectively, while the intracellular contributions were 68.29% and 40.38%. The sum of extracellular and intracellular contributions to Cr(VI) reduction (79.05% and 96.09%) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was nearly balanced with the corresponding maximum values despite minor relative errors. These results indicated that anaerobic Cr(VI) reduction mainly occurred extracellularly rather than intracellularly, which differs from the existing result. Overall, our findings provide new insights into bacterial Cr(VI) reduction.

AQDS-functionalized biochar enhances the bioreduction of Cr(VI) by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32

The bioreduction of toxic chromium(VI) to sparingly soluble chromium(III) represents an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for remediating Cr contamination. Usually, this bioreduction process is slow and requires the addition of quinone compounds as electron shuttles to enhance the reaction rate. However, the dissolved quinone compounds are susceptible to loss with water flow, thereby limiting their effectiveness. To address this challenge, this study loaded anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), a typical quinone compound, onto biochar (BC) to create a novel solid-phase electron mediator (BC-AQDS) that can sustainably promote Cr(VI) bioreduction. The experimental results demonstrated that BC-AQDS significantly promoted the bioreduction of Cr(VI), where the reaction rate constant increased by 4.81 times, and the reduction extent increased by 38.31%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis revealed that AQDS replaced the -OH functional groups on the BC surface to form BC-AQDS. Upon receiving electrons from Shewanella putrefaciens CN32, BC-AQDS was reduced to BC-AH2DS, which subsequently facilitated the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). This redox cycle between BC-AQDS and BC-AH2DS effectively enhanced the bioreduction rate of Cr(VI). Our study also found that a lower carbonization temperature of BC resulted in a higher surface -OH functional group content, enabling a greater load of AQDS and a more pronounced enhancement effect on the bioreduction of Cr(VI). Additionally, a smaller particle size of BC and a higher dosage of BC-AQDS further contributed to the enhancement of Cr(VI) bioreduction. The preparation of BC-AQDS in this study effectively improve the utilization of quinone compounds and offer a promising approach for enhancing the bioreduction of Cr(VI). It provides a more comprehensive reference for understanding and solving the problem of Cr pollution in groundwater.

Reduction of hexavalent chromium using Bacillus safensis isolated from an abandoned mine

The present work focused on the isolation of a bacterial strain multi-resistant to heavy metals with a high potential for reducing hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and studied its Cr(VI) removal performance in immobilized state and the mechanisms involved. Bacterial isolate was identified as Bacillus safensis CCMM B629 (B. safensis), is able to completely reduce 50, 100 and 200 mg/L of Cr(VI) after 24, 48 and 120 h, respectively under optimized conditions of pH 7 and 30°C. The coexistence of nitrates, cadmium and mercury inhibits reduction, while copper and iron significantly improve removal efficiencies. Additionally, the presence of electron donors such as glycerol, glucose and citrate significantly increases bioreduction rate. Cells immobilized in alginate beads successfully reduced Cr(VI) compared to free cells, showing the performance of biobeads in Cr(VI) reduction. Membrane fraction exhibited highest rate of Cr(VI) reduction (65%) compared to other cellular components, indicating that Cr(VI) reduction occurred primarily in cell membrane. Further characterization of Cr(VI) removal by B. safensis cells using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis showed its ability to reduce and adsorb Cr(VI), confirming that hexavalent chromium was taken up successfully on bacterial cell surfaces. Based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR), hydroxyl, carboxyl, amide, and phosphoryl functional groups participated in combination with Cr(III). In conclusion, B. safensis is a bacterium with great potential for Cr(VI) removal, and it is a promising and competitive strain for use in bioremediation of Cr(VI) contaminated industrial effluents.

Unveiling the inhibitory mechanisms of chromium exposure on microbial reductive dechlorination: Kinetics and microbial responses

Chromium and organochlorine solvents, particularly trichloroethene (TCE), are pervasive co-existing contaminants in subsurface aquifers due to their extensive industrial use and improper disposal practices. In this study, we investigated the microbial dechlorination kinetics under different TCE-Cr(Ⅲ/VI) composite pollution conditions and elucidated microbial response mechanisms based on community shift patterns and metagenomic analysis. Our results revealed that the reductive dechlorinating consortium had high resistance to Cr(III) but extreme sensitivity to Cr(VI) disturbance, resulting in a persistent inhibitory effect on subsequent dechlorination. Interestingly, the vinyl chloride-respiring organohalide-respiring bacteria (OHRB) was notably more susceptible to Cr(III/VI) exposure than the trichloroethene-respiring one, possibly due to inferior competition for growth substrates, such as electron donors. In terms of synergistic non-OHRB populations, Cr(III/VI) exposure had limited impacts on lactate fermentation but significantly interfered with H2-producing acetogenesis, leading to inhibited microbial dechlorination due to electron donor deficiencies. However, this inhibition can be effectively mitigated by the amendment of exogenous H2 supply. Furthermore, being the predominant OHRB, Dehalococcoides have inherent Cr(VI) resistance defects and collaborate with synergistic non-OHRB populations to achieve concurrent bio-detoxication of Cr(VI) and TCE. Our findings expand the understanding of the response patterns of different functional populations towards Cr(III/VI) stress, and provide valuable insights for the development of in situ bioremediation strategies for sites co-contaminated with chloroethene and chromium.

Metabolic mechanism of Cr(VI) pollution remediation by Alicycliphilus denitrificans Ylb10

Cr(VI) is a well-known toxic pollutant and its remediation has attracted great attention. It is important to continuously discover and explore new high-efficiency Cr(VI) reducing bacteria to further improve the efficiency of Cr(VI) pollution remediation. In this paper, metabolic mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction in a new highly efficient Cr(VI) reducing bacterium, Alicycliphilus denitrificans Ylb10, was investigated. The results showed that Ylb10 could tolerate and completely reduce 450 mg/L Cr(VI). Cr(VI) can be reduced in the intracellular compartment, membrane and the extracellular compartment, with the plasma membrane being the main active site for Cr(VI) reduction. With the addition of NADH, the reduction efficiency of cell membrane components for Cr(VI) increased 2.3-fold. The omics data analysis showed that sulfite reductase CysJ, thiosulfate dehydrogenase TsdA, nitrite reductase NrfA, nitric oxide reductase NorB, and quinone oxidoreductase ChrR play important roles in the reduction of Cr(VI), in the intracellular, and the extracellular compartment, and the membrane of Ylb10, and therefore Cr(VI) was reduced by the combined action of several reductases at these three locations.

Metagenomic and genomic analysis of heavy metal-tolerant and -resistant bacteria in resource islands in a semi-arid zone of the Colombian Caribbean

Bacteria from resource islands can adapt to different extreme conditions in semi-arid regions. We aimed to determine the potential resistance and tolerance to heavy metals from the bacterial community under the canopy of three resource islands in a semi-arid zone of the Colombian Caribbean. Total DNA was extracted from soil and through a metagenomics approach, we identified genes related to heavy metal tolerance and resistance under the influence of drought and humidity conditions, as well as the presence or absence of vegetation. We characterized the genomes of bacterial isolates cultivated in the presence of four heavy metals. The abundances of genes related to heavy metal resistance and tolerance were favored by soil moisture and the presence of vegetation. We observed a high abundance of resistance genes (60.4%) for Cu, Zn, and Ni, while 39.6% represented tolerance. These genes positively correlated with clay and silt content, and negatively correlated with sand content. Resistance and tolerance were associated with detoxification mechanisms involving oxidoreductase enzymes, metalloproteases, and hydrolases, as well as transmembrane proteins involved in metal transport such as efflux pumps and ion transmembrane transporters. The Bacillus velezensis C3-3 and Cytobacillus gottheilii T106 isolates showed resistance to 5 mM of Cd, Co, Mn, and Ni through detoxification genes associated with ABC pumps, metal transport proteins, ion antiporter proteins, and import systems, among others. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of bacteria from resource islands in bioremediation processes of soils contaminated with heavy metals.

Effective Cr(VI) reduction and immobilization in chromite ore processing residue (COPR) contaminated soils by ferrous sulfate and digestate: A comparative investigation with typical reducing agents

Chemical reduction combined with microbial stabilization is a green and efficient method for the remediation of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) contaminated soil. In this study, the combination of ferrous sulfate with kitchen waste digestate was applied to reduce and immobilize Cr(VI) in chromite ore processing residue (COPR) contaminated soils, and systematically evaluated the remediation performance of Cr(VI) compared with several typical reducing agents (i.e., ferrous sulfate, zero valent iron, sodium thiosulfate, ferrous sulfide, and calcium polysulfide). The results showed that the combination of ferrous sulfate and digestate had superior advantages of a lower dosage of reducing agent and a long-term remediation effect compared to other single chemical reductants. Under an Fe(II):Cr(VI) molar ratio of 3:1% and 4% digestate (wt), the content of Cr(VI) in the soil decreased to 5.07 mg/kg after 60 days of remediation. Meanwhile, the leaching concentrations of Cr(VI) were below detection limit, which can meet the hazardous waste toxicity leaching standard. The risk level of Cr pollution was decreased from very high risk to low risk. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results further demonstrated that the combined treatments were beneficial to Cr(VI) reduction and stabilization. The abundance of bacteria with Cr(VI) reducing ability was higher than other treatments. Moreover, the high abundance of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in the combined treatments demonstrated that the addition of digestate was beneficial to the recovery and flourishing of Cr(VI)-reducing related microorganisms in COPR contaminated soils. This work provided an alternative way on Cr(VI) remediation in COPR contaminated soils.

Facilitating New Chromium Reducing Microbes to Enhance Hexavalent Chromium Reduction by In Situ Sonoporation-Mediated Gene Transfer in Soils

Chromium (Cr) is a heavy metal with a high toxicity and pathogenicity. Microbial reduction is an effective strategy to remove Cr(VI) at contaminated sites but suffers from the low populations and activities of Cr-reducing microorganisms in soils. This study proposed an in situ sonoporation-mediated gene transfer approach, which improved soil Cr(VI) reduction performance by delivering exogenous Cr-transporter chrA genes and Cr-reducing yieF genes into soil microorganisms with the aid of ultrasound. Besides the increasing populations of Cr-resistant bacteria and elevated copy numbers of chrA and yieF genes after sonoporation-mediated gene transfer, three new Cr-reducing strains were isolated, among which Comamonas aquatica was confirmed to obtain Cr-resistant capability. In addition, sonoporation-mediated gene transfer was the main driving force significantly shaping soil microbial communities owing to the predominance of Cr-resistant microbes. This study pioneered and evidenced that in situ soil sonoporation-mediated gene transfer could effectively deliver functional genes into soil indigenous microbes to facilitate microbial functions for enhanced bioremediation, e.g., Cr-reduction in this study, showing its feasibility as a chemically green and sustainable remediation strategy for heavy metal contaminated sites.

Exploring the mechanism of enhanced Cr(VI) removal by Lysinibacillus cavernae microcapsules loaded with synthetic nano-hydroxyapatite

In this study, nano-scale hydroxyapatite (HAP) powder was successfully synthesized from waste eggshells and combined with Lysinibacillus cavernae CR-2 to form bio-microcapsules, which facilitated the enhanced removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater. The effects of various parameters, such as bio-microcapsule dosage, HAP dosage, and initial Cr(VI) concentration on Cr(VI) removal, were investigated. Under different treatment conditions, the Cr(VI) removal followed the order of LC@HAP (90.95%) > LC (78.15%) > Free-LC (75.61%) > HAP (6.56%) > NM (0.23%) at the Cr(VI) initial concentration of 50 mg L-1. Relative to other reaction systems, the LC@HAP treatment exhibited a considerable decrease in total Cr content in the solution, with removal rates surpassing 70%. Additionally, the bio-microcapsules maintained significant biological activity after reacting with Cr(VI). Further characterization using SEM, FTIR, XPS, and XRD revealed that the Cr(VI) removal mechanisms by bio-microcapsules primarily involved biological reduction and HAP adsorption. The adsorption of Cr(III) by HAP predominantly occurred through electrostatic interactions and surface complexation, accompanied by an ion exchange process between Cr(III) and Ca(II). Hence, bio-microcapsules, created by combining L. cavernae with HAP, represent a promising emerging material for the enhanced removal of Cr(VI) pollutants from wastewater.

Proteomic analysis to unravel the biochemical mechanisms triggered by Bacillus toyonensis SFC 500-1E under chromium(VI) and phenol stress

Bacillus toyonensis SFC 500-1E is a member of the consortium SFC 500-1 able to remove Cr(VI) and simultaneously tolerate high phenol concentrations. In order to elucidate mechanisms utilized by this strain during the bioremediation process, the differential expression pattern of proteins was analyzed when it grew with or without Cr(VI) (10 mg/L) and Cr(VI) + phenol (10 and 300 mg/L), through two complementary proteomic approaches: gel-based (Gel-LC) and gel-free (shotgun) nanoUHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 400 differentially expressed proteins were identified, out of which 152 proteins were down-regulated under Cr(VI) and 205 up-regulated in the presence of Cr(VI) + phenol, suggesting the extra effort made by the strain to adapt itself and keep growing when phenol was also added. The major metabolic pathways affected include carbohydrate and energetic metabolism, followed by lipid and amino acid metabolism. Particularly interesting were also ABC transporters and the iron-siderophore transporter as well as transcriptional regulators that can bind metals. Stress-associated global response involving the expression of thioredoxins, SOS response, and chaperones appears to be crucial for the survival of this strain under treatment with both contaminants. This research not only provided a deeper understanding of B. toyonensis SFC 500-1E metabolic role in Cr(VI) and phenol bioremediation process but also allowed us to complete an overview of the consortium SFC 500-1 behavior. This may contribute to an improvement in its use as a bioremediation strategy and also provides a baseline for further research.

Physiological, biochemical, and genomic elucidation of the Ensifer adhaerens M8 strain with simultaneous arsenic oxidation and chromium reduction

This study reports the simultaneous oxidation of As(III) and reduction of the Cr(VI) strain Ensifer adhaerens M8 screened from soils around abandoned gold tailings contaminated with highly complex metals (loids). Physiological, biochemical, and genomic techniques were used to explore the mechanism. The strain M8 could simultaneously oxidize 1 mM As(III) and reduce 45.3 % 0.1 mM Cr(VI) in 16 h, and the Cr(VI) reduction rate was increased by 5.8 % compared with the addition of Cr(VI) alone. Cellular debris was the main site of M8 arsenic oxidation. Chromium reduction was dominated by the reduction of extracellular hexavalent chromium (23.80-35.67 %). The genome of M8 included one chromosome and four plasmids, and a comparison of the genomes showed that M8 had two more plasmids than strains of the same genus, which may be related to strong environmental adaptations. M8 had 10 heavy metal resistance genes (HMRs), and plasmid D had a complete cluster of arsenic resistance-oxidation-transport genes (arsOHBCCR-aioSR-aioBA-cytCmoeA-phoBBU-PstBACS-phnCDEE). The genes involved in Cr(VI) detoxification include DNA repair (RecG, ruvABC, and UvrD), Cr(VI) transport (chrA, TonB, and CysAPTW) and Cr(VI) reduction. In summary, this study provides a molecular basis for As (III) and Cr (VI) remediation.

Antibiotic and metal resistance of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates from Eboling permafrost of the Tibetan Plateau

Whole-genome sequencing of pathogenic bacteria Stenotrophomonas maltophilia from a less polluted environment of permafrost can help understand the intrinsic resistome of both antibiotics and metals. This study aimed to examine the maximum minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of both antibiotics and metals, as well as antibiotic resistance genes and metal resistance genes annotated from whole-genome sequences. The permafrost S. maltophilia was sensitive to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, streptomycin, and bacitracin, and resistant to chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cr⁶⁺, with a lower maximum MIC, compared with clinical S. maltophilia. The former strain belonged to the lower antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) and metal resistance gene (MRG) clusters compared with the latter ones. The permafrost strain contained no or only one kind of ARG or MRG on a single genomic island, which explained the aforementioned lower maximum MIC and less diversity of ARGs or MRGs. The result indicated that the co-occurrence of antibiotic and metal resistance was due to a certain innate ability of S. maltophilia. The continuous human use of antibiotics or metals induced selective pressure, resulting in higher MIC and more diverse ARGs and MRGs in human-impacted environments.

Sensitivity of Zea mays and Soil Microorganisms to the Toxic Effect of Chromium (VI)

Chromium is used in many settings, and hence, it can easily enter the natural environment. It exists in several oxidation states. In soil, depending on its oxidation-reduction potential, it can occur in bivalent, trivalent or hexavalent forms. Hexavalent chromium compounds are cancerogenic to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Cr(VI) on the structure of bacteria and fungi in soil, to find out how this effect is modified by humic acids and to determine the response of Zea mays to this form of chromium. A pot experiment was conducted to answer the above questions. Zea mays was sown in natural soil and soil polluted with Cr(VI) in an amount of 60 mg kg-1 d.m. Both soils were treated with humic acids in the form of HumiAgra preparation. The ecophysiological and genetic diversity of bacteria and fungi was assayed in soil under maize (not sown with Zea mays). In addition, the following were determined: yield of maize, greenness index, index of tolerance to chromium, translocation index and accumulation of chromium in the plant. It has been determined that Cr(VI) significantly distorts the growth and development of Zea mays, while humic acids completely neutralize its toxic effect on the plant. This element had an adverse effect on the development of bacteria of the genera Cellulosimicrobium, Kaistobacter, Rhodanobacter, Rhodoplanes and Nocardioides and fungi of the genera Chaetomium and Humicola. Soil contamination with Cr(VI) significantly diminished the genetic diversity and richness of bacteria and the ecophysiological diversity of fungi. The negative impact of Cr(VI) on the diversity of bacteria and fungi was mollified by Zea mays and the application of humic acids.

Cloning of Nitrate Reductase and Nitrite Reductase Genes and Their Functional Analysis in Regulating Cr(VI) Reduction in Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Pisolithus sp.1

Assimilatory-type nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR) are the key enzymes that involve in nitrate assimilation and nitrogen cycling in microorganisms. NR and NiR with NADH or NADPH and FMN or FAD domains could be coupled to the reduction process of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in microorganisms. A new assimilatory-type NR gene (named niaD) and a new assimilatory-type NiR gene (named niiA) are cloned, identified, and functionally characterized by 5′ and 3′ RACE, alignment, annotation, phylogenetic tree, and yeast mutant complementation analyses from Pisolithus sp.1, a dominant symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) that can assist in phytoremediation. Assimilatory-type niaD and niiA were 2,754 bp and 3,468 bp and encode a polypeptide with 917 and 1,155 amino acid residues, respectively. The isoelectric points of NR (Pisolithus sp.1 NR) and NiR (Pisolithus sp.1 NiR) of Pisolithus sp.1 are 6.07 and 6.38, respectively. The calculated molecular mass of Pisolithus sp.1 NR and Pisolithus sp.1 NiR is 102.065 and 126.914 kDa, respectively. Yeast mutant complementation analysis, protein purification, and activities of NR and NiR under Cr treatment suggest that Pisolithus sp.1 NR is a functional NR that mediates Cr(VI) tolerance and reduction. The multiple alignment demonstrates that Pisolithus sp.1 NR is potentially a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent flavin mononucleotide reductase and also Class II chromate reductase. Our results suggest that Pisolithus sp.1 NR plays a key role in Cr(VI) reduction in the EMF Pisolithus sp.1.

Microbe-citric acid assisted phytoremediation of chromium by castor bean (Ricinus communis L.)

Chromium is one of the highly toxic heavy metals to plant growth and development especially hexavalent chromium (Cr+6) due to its readily available nature and mobility into the environment. The chelating agents and hyperaccumulator plant can contribute to remediating the heavy metals from the contaminated medium. This study was conducted to analyze the role of citric acid and chromium resistant bacteria in castor bean to remediate Cr+6 from the polluted soil. The soil was spiked with different levels of citric acid (0, 2.5, 5 mM) and chromium (0, 10, 20 mg kg-1). The ripened plants were harvested and analyzed for growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, gas exchange parameters, oxidative stress markers, antioxidant enzymes activities and chromium accumulation in different parts of plants. The high concentration of chromium 20 mg kg-1 drastically reduced the plant growth, decreased photosynthetic rate and increased oxidative stress. The application of CA improved the plant growth even at the highest concentration of chromium which was further boosted by the combined application of CA and chromium resistant bacteria. However, the performance of staphylococcus aureus was found significantly better than Bacillus subtilis due to its better ability to tolerate chromium toxicity even at high concentrations. The findings proved that castor bean has excellent potential to tolerate high chromium concentrations and can be effectively used to remediate metals contaminated soil. Further, CA and metal resistant bacteria can significantly enhance the phytoremediation potential of castor bean and other hyperaccumulator plants. The bacteria assisted phytoremediation coupled with the chelating agent can be a practical approach to remediate the metals contaminating soils.

Physiological mechanism of the response to Cr(VI) in the aerobic denitrifying ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus sp.1

Pisolithus sp. 1 (P sp. 1) is an ectomycorrhizal fungus (EMF) with a strong Cr(VI) tolerance and reduction ability. The noninvasive microttest technique (NMT), real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and the three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) were used to deeply explore the physiological mechanism of the P sp. 1 response to Cr(VI) and investigate the relationship between Cr(VI) reduction and denitrification in P sp. Cr(VI) induced the strongest elevations in nitrate reductase (NR) activity and NO production in the mycelia after treatment with Cr(VI) for 48 h under aerobic conditions. The NR inhibitor tungstate significantly inhibited Cr(VI) reduction, proton efflux and the expression of the NR gene (niaD) and NiR gene (niiA). In addition, NO was generated via NR-regulated denitrification. Combined treatments with Cr(VI) and the NO scavenger carboxy-PTIO (cPTIO) significantly increased O₂^-, H₂O₂ and MDA contents and reduced SDH, CAT, GSH, GR and GSNOR activity. Therefore, the NR-driven aerobic denitrifying process requires protons, and the generated NO reduces the oxidative stress effect of Cr(VI) on mycelia by reducing ROS accumulation and lipid peroxidation, enhancing mycelial and CAT activity, and promoting GSH recycling and regeneration. Psp.1 can also secrete humic acid-like and protein-like substances to combine with Cr(III) in a culture system.

Exploration of anti-chromium mechanism of marine Penicillium janthinellum P1 through combinatorial transcriptomic analysis and WGCNA

Fungi have a promising application prospect in the remediation of heavy-metal wastewater pollution which is a sticky global problem. New marine-derived strain Penicillium janthinellum P1 is of high chromium resistance. However, a comprehensive study of the transcriptomics in Penicillium janthinellum P1 strains is lacking. Firstly, the changing trends of a series of physiological and biochemical indices of P1 strain at 0 M and 1 M Cr concentration were investigated to track the ROS variation. Secondly, transcriptome sequencing of P1 was performed by RNA-Seq sequencing technology. The transcriptome data indicated that 12,352 coding protein regions were predicted, and 6655 differentially expressed genes were identified by DESeq2, of which 4234 genes were up-regulated, and 2421 genes down-regulated. Through further co-expression network of WGCNA analysis, the filtered unigenes were clustered into 19 modules. Combined with the physiological and biochemical findings, the three modules with the highest correlation with the six traits were selected to construct the network, and 52 hub genes were obtained. Furthermore, 10 speculative hub genes related to chromium resistance were selected and verified by real-time PCR. The results were in line with the expected experimental assumption. These results improve our understanding of the transcriptomic dimensions of the high chromium resistance of Penicillium janthinellum P1 strains.

The reduction of Cr(VI) in Salvinia minima, possible involvement of an h-type thioredoxin

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is extremely toxic to plant cells and has been recognized to possess a high redox potential. Tolerant plant species have shown the ability to reduce Cr(VI), but the operating mechanism involved in this process is not elucidated. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of thiolic and phenolic compounds and thioredoxin expression during Cr(VI) reduction in S. minima. In addition, a probable enzymatic reduction of Cr(VI) was investigated. Plants were exposed to 20 mg L^-1 Cr(VI) concentration during 7 days under controlled conditions. The amount of metal accumulated in lacinias (root-like submerged leaves) and fronds (floating leaves) indicated that a low percentage of absorbed Cr(VI) was mobilized from lacinias to fronds. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that Cr(III) was the only chromium species occurring in S. minima plants. Thiols and phenolics of lacinias and fronds were increased significantly by Cr(VI) treatment, but accumulation patterns were different. The expression of an h-type thioredoxin (Trx h) was demonstrated for the first time in Cr-exposed lacinias. Enzymatic reduction showed a low contribution to the Cr(VI) reduction. Data of this study provide evidences on the involvement of thiols, thioredoxin, and phenolics in the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in S. minima tissues.

Analysis of the Genome of the Heavy Metal Resistant and Hydrocarbon-Degrading Rhizospheric Pseudomonas qingdaonensis ZCR6 Strain and Assessment of Its Plant-Growth-Promoting Traits

The Pseudomonas qingdaonensis ZCR6 strain, isolated from the rhizosphere of Zea mays growing in soil co-contaminated with hydrocarbons and heavy metals, was investigated for its plant growth promotion, hydrocarbon degradation, and heavy metal resistance. In vitro bioassays confirmed all of the abovementioned properties. ZCR6 was able to produce indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophores, and ammonia, solubilized Ca₃(PO₄)₂, and showed surface active properties and activity of cellulase and very high activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (297 nmol α-ketobutyrate mg⁻¹ h⁻¹). The strain degraded petroleum hydrocarbons (76.52% of the initial hydrocarbon content was degraded) and was resistant to Cd, Zn, and Cu (minimal inhibitory concentrations reached 5, 15, and 10 mM metal, respectively). The genome of the ZCR6 strain consisted of 5,507,067 bp, and a total of 5055 genes were annotated, of which 4943 were protein-coding sequences. Annotation revealed the presence of genes associated with nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, sulfur metabolism, siderophore biosynthesis and uptake, synthesis of IAA, ethylene modulation, heavy metal resistance, exopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and organic compound degradation. Complete characteristics of the ZCR6 strain showed its potential multiway properties for enhancing the phytoremediation of co-contaminated soils. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the biotechnological potential of the species P. qingdaonensis.

Reduction of Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)] by Heavy Metal Tolerant Bacterium Alkalihalobacillus clausii CRA1 and Its Toxicity Assessment Through Flow Cytometry

A chromate-resistant bacterial strain was isolated from tannery effluent; based on morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, it was identified as Alkalihalobacillus clausii and designated A. clausii CRA1. It was found to be halophilic, alkaliphilic, and resistant to multiple heavy metals like Cr(VI), Cd(II), As(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Hg(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Fe(II). The strain was found to reduce 72% of chromate in 6 days in Cr(VI) spiked Luria Bertani medium with unaffected bacterial growth at an initial C(VI) concentration of 50 mg L^-1. Chromate reductase activity of culture supernatant (cultivated in LB broth) and cell lysate of the bacterium was found to be 23 and 43U, where 1U is µmol of Cr(VI) reduced/min/mg protein. Flow cytometry studies revealed that no significant effect of Cr(VI) on cell viability was observed till 12 h of exposure at 100, 200, 400 mg L^-1 concentrations, indicated by non-significant cell death (propidium iodide positive cells). However, at 800 and 1000 mg L^-1 Cr(VI) concentration, toxicity (cell death) was observed after 12 h of exposure. FACs studies also indicated that exposure to Cr(VI) increases cell size and cell granularity, which was also confirmed in SEM and TEM images of Cr(VI) treated cells. The presence of Cr(III) species in EDX spectra of Cr(VI) treated cells confirms that reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) is the primary mechanism of Cr(VI) removal by the bacterium. Therefore, the bacterium A. clausii has potential for application in chromate removal from industrial waste effluents.

Mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction by Lysinibacillus sp. HST-98, a newly isolated Cr (VI)-reducing strain

Facing the increasingly severe Cr(VI) pollution, bioreduction has proved to be an eco-friendly remediation method. An isolated strain identified as Lysinibacillus can relatively reduce Cr(VI) well. Even if the concentration of Cr(VI) increased to 250mg/L, the strain HST-98 could also grow and remove Cr(VI) well. After optimization of reaction conditions, the optimal pH, temperature, and electron donor are 8~9, 36°C, and sodium lactate, respectively. Coexisting metal ions such as Cu2+, Co2+, and Mn2+ are beneficial to reduce Cr(VI), while Zn2+, Ni2+, and Cd2+ are just the opposite. What is more, the mechanism of the reduction by the strain HST-98 is chiefly mediated by intracellular enzymes. After gene sequence homology blast and analysis, the genes and enzymes related to chromium metabolism in strain HST-98 have been annotated, which helps us to further understand the reduction mechanism of the strain HST-98. In general, Lysinibacillus sp. HST-98 is a potential candidate to repair the Cr(VI)-contaminated sites.

Natural attenuation mechanism of hexavalent chromium in a wetland: Zoning characteristics of abiotic and biotic effects

Natural wetland has great retention effect on Cr(VI) migration due to its abiotic and biotic reduction abilities, however, the zoning characteristics of dominating reduction mechanism along Cr(VI) pollution plume in wetland is still unclear. In this study, a Cr(VI) contaminated natural wetland was explored to investigate the distributions of Cr and Fe in groundwater and sediment, and their relationship with microorganisms according to metagenomics, aiming to reveal the natural attenuation mechanism of Cr(VI) from the perspective of zoning characteristics of abiotic and biotic effects. The wetland was divided into contaminated zone, transition zone and uncontaminated zone according to the contamination states of groundwater and sediment. At the upstream of contaminated zone, Cr(VI) concentration in groundwater was as high as 26.7 mg L^-1, which has significant inhibition effect on microbial growth, and thus chemical reduction of Cr(VI) by natural organic matters (NOMs) dominated in this area, leading to the increasing of H/C and O/C ratios of NOMs because of the oxidation of aromatic moieties. At the downstream of contaminated zone, Cr(VI) concentration in groundwater decreased to less than 4.46 mg L^-1 resulting from dilution and attenuation, but the microbial community was altered substantially, chromate resistant bacteria with ChrA, ChrR, NemA and AzoR genes were enriched, such as Sphingomonas, Mesorhizobium and Comamonadaceae, and thus the direct microbial reduction of Cr(VI) dominated in this area. While at the transition zone, which is located at the front edge of the pollution plume, Cr(VI) could only reached in this area intermittently, and the microbial community remained similar to that of the uncontaminated zone, dominated by Chloroflexi and Acidobateria phylum with dissimilatory ferric iron reduction capacity, and thus Cr(VI) was indirectly reduced by Fe²⁺ intermediately in this area.

Transcriptome analysis provides new insights into the tolerance and reduction of Lysinibacillus fusiformis 15-4 to hexavalent chromium

Microbial bioremediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated environments has drawn extensive concern. However, the molecular processes underlying the microbial Cr(VI) tolerance and reduction remain unclear. We isolated a Cr(VI)-reducing Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain 15-4 from soil on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. When grown in 1 mM and 2 mM Cr(VI)-containing medium, strain 15-4 could reduce 100% and 93.7% of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) after 36 h and 60 h of incubation, respectively. To know the molecular processes in response to Cr(VI), transcriptome sequencing was carried out using RNA-Seq technology. The results annotated a total of 3913 expressed genes in the strain. One thousand ninety-eight genes (28.1%) were significantly (fold change ≥ 2, false discovery rate ≤ 0.05) expressed in response to Cr(VI), of which 605 (55.1%) were upregulated and 493 (44.9%) were downregulated. The enrichment analysis showed that a total of 630 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched to 122 KEGG pathways, of which 8 pathways were significantly (p < 0.05) enriched in Cr(VI)-treated sample, including ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters (97 DEGs), ribosome (40), sulfur metabolism (16), aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis (19), porphyrin metabolism (20), quorum sensing (44), oxidative phosphorylation (17), and histidine metabolism (10), suggesting that these pathways play key roles to cope with Cr(VI) in the strain. The highly upregulated DEGs consisted of 29 oxidoreductase, 18 dehydrogenase, 14 cell redox homeostasis and stress response protein, and 10 DNA damage and repair protein genes. However, seven Na⁺:H⁺ antiporter complex-coding DEGs and most of transcriptional regulator-coding DEGs were significantly downregulated in the Cr-treated sample. Many of FMN/NAD(P)H-dependent reductase-encoding genes were greatly induced by Cr, suggesting the involvement of these genes in Cr(VI) reduction in strain 15-4. Sulfur and iron ions as well as the thiol-disulfide exchange reactions might play synergistic roles in Cr reduction.Key points• Lysinibacillus fusiformis 15-4 was able to tolerate and reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III).• Transcriptome analysis revealed that 1098 DEGs and 8 key KEGG pathways significantly responded to Cr(VI).• Sulfur metabolism, protein biosynthesis, and porphyrin metabolism were the key pathways associated with the survival of strain 15-4 in response to Cr(VI).

Microbial reduction of Cr(VI) in the presence of Ni, Cu and Zn by bacterial consortium enriched from an electroplating contaminated site

The bioremediation of Cr(VI) has been intensively reported in recent years, while little information about Cr(VI)-reducing consortium enriched from in-situ contaminated soil has been revealed, specifically the functional genes involved. In this study, we verified a Cr(VI) reduction process by a consortium enriched from in-situ contaminated soil through enzymatic analysis. The chromate reductase gene ChrR has been successfully amplified and further analyzed, provided solid evidence to prove the Cr(VI) bio-reduction was an enzyme-mediated process. Meanwhile, the analysis of metabolic pathways demonstrates that the consortium could detoxicate and resist Cr(VI) and co-existing metals (Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺) through membrane transport and DNA repair process. The co-existing heavy metals Zn and Cu had a relatively significant negative and positive effects on Cr(VI) reduction respectively, which may play important roles in the Cr(VI) contaminated soil bioremediation.

Bacterial Resistance against Heavy Metals in Pseudomonas aeruginosa RW9 Involving Hexavalent Chromium Removal

Pseudomonas aeruginosa RW9 is a promising candidate for the bioremediation of chromium hexavalent (Cr(VI)) pollution, as it resists a high concentration of up to 60 mg/L of Cr(VI). Leaving cells exposed to Cr(VI) has large bioreduction potential, implying its capacity to extract the ions from the contaminated medium. In this study, the tolerance for and distribution of Cr(VI) were investigated to identify the cells’ adaptation and removal strategies. Micro-characterization analysis was conducted to assess the effect of Cr(VI) on the cells. The cells’ elongation was observed at higher Cr(VI) concentrations, signifying their adaptation to DNA damage caused by Cr(VI) toxicity. Cr(VI) distribution analysis showed that the strain developed a complex mechanism to adapt to Cr(VI), based on surface-bound (0.46 mg/L), intracellularly accumulated (1.24 mg/L) and extracellular sequestration (6.74 mg/L), which accounted for 85% of the removal efficiency. The extracellular sequestration might be attributable to the production of metabolites, in accordance with the fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and orcinol analysis that confirmed the presence of a glycolipid biosurfactant, rhamnolipid. Remarkably, the rhamnolipid was slightly induced in the presence of Cr(VI). From the data obtained, it was confirmed that this local strain is well equipped to survive high doses of Cr(VI) and has great potential for application in Cr(VI) bioremediation.

Unraveling the Underlying Heavy Metal Detoxification Mechanisms of Bacillus Species

The rise of anthropogenic activities has resulted in the increasing release of various contaminants into the environment, jeopardizing fragile ecosystems in the process. Heavy metals are one of the major pollutants that contribute to the escalating problem of environmental pollution, being primarily introduced in sensitive ecological habitats through industrial effluents, wastewater, as well as sewage of various industries. Where heavy metals like zinc, copper, manganese, and nickel serve key roles in regulating different biological processes in living systems, many heavy metals can be toxic even at low concentrations, such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead, and can accumulate in intricate food chains resulting in health concerns. Over the years, many physical and chemical methods of heavy metal removal have essentially been investigated, but their disadvantages like the generation of chemical waste, complex downstream processing, and the uneconomical cost of both methods, have rendered them inefficient,. Since then, microbial bioremediation, particularly the use of bacteria, has gained attention due to the feasibility and efficiency of using them in removing heavy metals from contaminated environments. Bacteria have several methods of processing heavy metals through general resistance mechanisms, biosorption, adsorption, and efflux mechanisms. Bacillus spp. are model Gram-positive bacteria that have been studied extensively for their biosorption abilities and molecular mechanisms that enable their survival as well as their ability to remove and detoxify heavy metals. This review aims to highlight the molecular methods of Bacillus spp. in removing various heavy metals ions from contaminated environments.

Biotreatment potential of co-contaminants hexavalent chromium and polychlorinated biphenyls in industrial wastewater: Individual and simultaneous prospects

Co-existence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in the environment due to effluent from industries has aggravated the pollution problem. Both contaminants can alter chemical interactions, processes and impair enzymatic activities in the ecosystem that results in negative impacts on aquatic and terrestrial life. Previously, research has been performed for the fate and transfer of these contaminants individually, but simultaneous removal approaches have not received much attention. Cr(VI) exists in a highly toxic form in the environment once released, whereas location of chlorine atoms in the ring determines PCBs toxicity. Lower chlorinated compounds are easily degradable whereas as high chlorinated compounds require sequential strategy for transformation. Microorganisms can develop different mechanism to detoxify both pollutants. However, occurrence of multiple contaminants in single system can alter the bioremediation efficiency of bacteria. Use of metal resistance bacterial for the degradation of organic compounds has been widely used bioaugmentation strategy. Along with that use of sorbents/bio sorbents, biosurfactants and phytoremediation approaches have already been well reported. Bioremediation strategy with dual potential to detoxify the Cr(VI) and PCBs would be a probable option for simultaneous biotreatment. Application of bioreactors and biofilms covered organic particles can be utilized as efficient bioaugmentation approach. In this review, biotreatment systems and bacterial oxidative and reductive enzymes/processes are explained and possible biotransformation pathway has been purposed for bioremediation of co-contaminated waters.

Port Sediments: Problem or Resource? A Review Concerning the Treatment and Decontamination of Port Sediments by Fungi and Bacteria

Contamination of marine sediments by organic and/or inorganic compounds represents one of the most critical problems in marine environments. This issue affects not only biodiversity but also ecosystems, with negative impacts on sea water quality. The scientific community and the European Commission have recently discussed marine environment and ecosystem protection and restoration by sustainable green technologies among the main objectives of their scientific programmes. One of the primary goals of sustainable restoration and remediation of contaminated marine sediments is research regarding new biotechnologies employable in the decontamination of marine sediments, to consider sediments as a resource in many fields such as industry. In this context, microorganisms—in particular, fungi and bacteria—play a central and crucial role as the best tools of sustainable and green remediation processes. This review, carried out in the framework of the Interreg IT-FR Maritime GEREMIA Project, collects and shows the bioremediation and mycoremediation studies carried out on marine sediments contaminated with ecotoxic metals and organic pollutants. This work evidences the potentialities and limiting factors of these biotechnologies and outlines the possible future scenarios of the bioremediation of marine sediments, and also highlights the opportunities of an integrated approach that involves fungi and bacteria together.

Hexavalent chromium reducing bacteria: mechanism of reduction and characteristics

As a common heavy metal, chromium and its compounds are widely used in industrial applications, e.g., leather tanning, electroplating, and in stainless steel, paints and fertilizers. Due to the strong toxicity of Cr(VI), chromium is regarded as a major source of pollution with a serious impact on the environment and biological systems. The disposal of Cr(VI) by biological treatment methods is more favorable than traditional treatment methods because the biological processes are environmentally friendly and cost-efficient. This review describes how bacteria tolerate and reduce Cr(VI) and the effects of some physical and chemical factors on the reduction of Cr(IV). The practical applications for Cr(VI) reduction of bacterial cells are also included in this review.

Effects of chromium stress on the rhizosphere microbial community composition of Cyperus alternifolius

Wetland plants are often used as the main body of soil, and the rhizosphere is a hot spot migration and transformation. Response mechanism to rhizosphere microorganisms on chromium(Cr) stressing could help improve the phytoremediation system. Cyperus alternifolius(CA) is selected as the research object by Cr-stress treatments and uncontaminated treatments with different cultivated pattern, included sole cultivated pattern(CAI), two-cultivated pattern (CAII), three-cultivated pattern (CAIII), and the un-planted blank samples (CK). 16s rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic sequencing are performed to measure rhizosphere microbial community. And Five common enzymes in rhizosphere soils were observed: β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG), β-1,4-xylosidase (BX), cellobiohydrolase (CBH) and Leucine amino peptidase (LAP) in the rhizosphere. The results show that Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Deltaproteobacteria are top five (63.97%) of the total sequence number. Wetland plants enriched a large amount of soil Cr in themselves, and the rhizosphere microorganisms don't show significant difference in community structure after affecting. 10.48% variation of microbial community is caused by Cr-stress. Acidovorax showed a great potential for chromium resistance. BX involvement in tolerance processes indirectly affects microbial communities (P < 0.01), there is a strong linear relationship between enzyme activity and the plants accumulating Cr and microbial community within 15.58% variant. The material accumulation and microbial quantity of CAIII are relatively low, but high biodiversity remains after affecting. These results provide references for in-depth understanding of rhizosphere microbial response to heavy metal pollution in wetland phytoremediation and interaction between wetland plants and rhizosphere microorganisms.

Coffee Grounds-Derived CNPs for Efficient Cr(VI) Water Remediation

Carbon nanomaterials are a group of materials characterized by sp2/sp3 carbon backbone which, combined with surface atoms and/or chemical groups, ensures peculiar physical chemical features for a wide range of applications. Among these materials, carbon dots and carbon nanoparticles belong to carbon nanomaterials with a few nanometer dimensions. In this work, carbon nanoparticles were produced from spent coffee grounds as sustainable carbon source through a simple, cheap and eco-friendly procedure according to an oxidation process (at controlled temperature) driven by hydrogen peroxide. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and fluorescence, UV-Vis absorption, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to assess the formation of carbon nanomaterials of about 10 nm with the typical emission and absorption properties of carbon dots and peculiar surface features. In fact, the presence of heteroatoms, i.e., phosphorus, and the carbonyl/carboxyl surface groups on carbon nanoparticles, was proposed to confer peculiar properties allowing the fast Mn(VII) reduction to Mn(II) at neutral pH and the Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) in weak acid aqueous media.

Study on the oxidative stress and transcriptional level in Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reducing strain Acinetobacter indicus yy-1 isolated from chromium-contaminated soil

The bioreduction of Cr(VI) and Hg(II) has become a hot topic in the field of heavy metals bioremediation. However, the mechanism of antioxidant stress in Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reducing bacteria is still not clear. In this work, a novel Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reducing strain Acinetobacter indicus yy-1, was isolated from chromium landfill at a chromate factory, which was used to investigate the mechanism of antioxidant stress during the Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reduction process. The results demonstrated that the removal of Cr(VI) and Hg(II) by A. indicus yy-1 from solution was through reduction rather than biosorption. The reduction rates of Cr(VI) and Hg(II) by resting cells reached 59.71% and 31.73% at 24 h with initial concentration of 10 mg L^-1, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis further showed that Cr(III) and Hg(0) were mainly the Cr(VI)- and Hg(II)-reduced productions, respectively. Results of physiological assays showed Hg(II) was more toxic to A. indicus yy-1 than Cr(VI), and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) were significantly increased in A. indicus yy-1 for relieving the oxidative stress. The transcriptional level of genes related to Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reductases and antioxidant enzymes were up-regulated, indicating that the reductases have participated in the reduction of Cr(VI) and Hg(II), and SOD and CAT served as the vital antioxidant enzymes for defending the oxidative stress. This work provides a deep insight into the mechanism of antioxidant stress in Cr(VI) and Hg(II) reducing bacteria, which helps seek the highly resistant heavy metal reducing bacteria.

Chemical-Assisted Microbially Mediated Chromium (Cr) (VI) Reduction Under the Influence of Various Electron Donors, Redox Mediators, and Other Additives: An Outlook on Enhanced Cr(VI) Removal

Chromium (Cr) (VI) is a well-known toxin to all types of biological organisms. Over the past few decades, many investigators have employed numerous bioprocesses to neutralize the toxic effects of Cr(VI). One of the main process for its treatment is bioreduction into Cr(III). Key to this process is the ability of microbial enzymes, which facilitate the transfer of electrons into the high valence state of the metal that acts as an electron acceptor. Many underlying previous efforts have stressed on the use of different external organic and inorganic substances as electron donors to promote Cr(VI) reduction process by different microorganisms. The use of various redox mediators enabled electron transport facility for extracellular Cr(VI) reduction and accelerated the reaction. Also, many chemicals have employed diverse roles to improve the Cr(VI) reduction process in different microorganisms. The application of aforementioned materials at the contaminated systems has offered a variety of influence on Cr(VI) bioremediation by altering microbial community structures and functions and redox environment. The collective insights suggest that the knowledge of appropriate implementation of suitable nutrients can strongly inspire the Cr(VI) reduction rate and efficiency. However, a comprehensive information on such substances and their roles and biochemical pathways in different microorganisms remains elusive. In this regard, our review sheds light on the contributions of various chemicals as electron donors, redox mediators, cofactors, etc., on microbial Cr(VI) reduction for enhanced treatment practices.

Optimization of theoretical maximal quantity of cells to immobilize on solid supports in the rational design of immobilized derivatives strategy

Current worldwide challenges are to increase the food production and decrease the environmental contamination by industrial emissions. For this, bacteria can produce plant growth promoter phytohormones and mediate the bioremediation of sewage by heavy metals removal. We developed a Rational Design of Immobilized Derivatives (RDID) strategy, applicable for protein, spore and cell immobilization and implemented in the RDID_1.0 software. In this work, we propose new algorithms to optimize the theoretical maximal quantity of cells to immobilize (tMQ_Cell) on solid supports, implemented in the RDID_Cell software. The main modifications to the preexisting algorithms are related to the sphere packing theory and exclusive immobilization on the support surface. We experimentally validated the new tMQ_Cell parameter by electrostatic immobilization of ten microbial strains on AMBERJET^® 4200 Cl^- porous solid support. All predicted tMQ_Cell match the practical maximal quantity of cells to immobilize with a 10% confidence. The values predicted by the RDID_Cell software are more accurate than the values predicted by the RDID_1.0 software. 3-indolacetic acid (IAA) production by one bacterial immobilized derivative was higher (~ 2.6 μg IAA-like indoles/10⁸ cells) than that of the cell suspension (1.5 μg IAA-like indoles/10⁸ cells), and higher than the tryptophan amount added as indole precursor. Another bacterial immobilized derivative was more active (22 μg Cr(III)/10⁸ cells) than the resuspended cells (14.5 μg Cr(III)/10⁸ cells) in bioconversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Optimized RDID strategy can be used to synthesize bacterial immobilized derivatives with useful biotechnological applications.

Heavy metal associated health hazards: An interplay of oxidative stress and signal transduction

Heavy metal-induced cellular and organismal toxicity have become a major health concern in biomedical science. Indiscriminate use of heavy metals in different sectors, such as, industrial-, agricultural-, healthcare-, cosmetics-, and domestic-sectors has contaminated environment matrices and poses a severe health concern. Xenobiotics mediated effect is a ubiquitous cellular response. Oxidative stress is one such prime cellular response, which is the result of an imbalance in the redox system. Further, oxidative stress is associated with macromolecular damages and activation of several cell survival and cell death pathways. Epidemiological as well as laboratory data suggest that oxidative stress-induced cellular response following heavy metal exposure is linked with an increased risk of neoplasm, neurological disorders, diabetes, infertility, developmental disorders, renal failure, and cardiovascular disease. During the recent past, a relation among heavy metal exposure, oxidative stress, and signaling pathways have been explored to understand the heavy metal-induced toxicity. Heavy metal-induced oxidative stress and its connection with different signaling pathways are complicated; therefore, the systemic summary is essential. Herein, an effort has been made to decipher the interplay among heavy metals/metalloids (Arsenic, Chromium, Cadmium, and Lead) exposures, oxidative stress, and signal transduction, which are essential to mount the cellular and organismal response. The signaling pathways involved in this interplay include NF-κB, NRF2, JAK-STAT, JNK, FOXO, and HIF.

Enrichment of microbial communities for hexavalent chromium removal using a biofilm reactor

Given the toxicity and widespread occurrence of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in aquatic environments, we investigated the feasibility of a down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) biofilm reactor for the enrichment of microbial communities capable of Cr(VI) removal. In the present study, a laboratory-scale DHS reactor fed with a molasses-based medium containing Cr(VI) was operated for 112 days for the investigation. The enrichment of Cr(VI)-removing microbial communities was evaluated based on water quality and prokaryotic community analyses. Once the DHS reactor began to operate, high average volumetric Cr(VI) removal rates of 1.21-1.45 mg L-sponge^-1 h^-1 were confirmed under varying influent Cr(VI) concentrations (approximately 20-40 mg L^-1). 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis suggested the presence of phylogenetically diverse prokaryotic lineages, including phyla that contain well-known Cr(VI)-reducing bacteria (e.g., Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria) in the polyurethane sponge media of the DHS reactor. Therefore, our findings indicate that DHS reactors have great potential for the enrichment of Cr(VI)-removing microbial communities.

Amelioration of chromium and heat stresses in Sorghum bicolor by Cr6+ reducing-thermotolerant plant growth promoting bacteria

Climatic factors particularly increased atmospheric temperature (IAT) greatly alters plant microbe and heavy metal interactions and subsequently reduces plant growth and phytoremediation efficiency. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of inoculation of chromium reducing-thermotolerant plant growth promoting bacteria (CRT-PGPB) on plant growth, physiological responses and chromium (Cr) uptake by Sorghum bicolor under IAT condition. Three potential CRT-PGPB strains were isolated from Cr contaminated sites and identified as Bacillus cereus TCR17, Providencia rettgeri TCR21 and Myroides odoratimimus TCR22 through molecular characterization. These strains displayed the potential to reduce Cr⁶⁺ to Cr³⁺, produce siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid and solubilize phosphate. Inoculation of S. bicolor with CRT-PGPB increased plant growth, antioxidant status (superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase) and decreased proline and malondialdehyde contents in plants under Cr, IAT and Cr + IAT stress indicate that PGPB helped plants to reduce stress induced oxidative damage. Irrespective of IAT stress, inoculation of CRT-PGPB decreased the accumulation of Cr in plants compared with un-inoculated control suggest that CRT-PGPB might have the potential to improve phytostabilization process in Cr contaminated soils. Furthermore, gene expression studies confirmed that inoculation of TCR21 down-regulated the expression of proline synthesis gene (p5cs1) and up-regulated the expression of antioxidant related genes (sod, apx1 and cat) and stress tolerance genes (sHsp). Our results showed that CRT-PGPB exhibiting potential to tolerate Cr, temperature, produce plant beneficial metabolites and reduce Cr⁶⁺ to Cr³⁺, can be exploited as potential inoculants for improving plant growth and phytoremediation process in Cr contaminated soil under IAT condition.

Simultaneous reduction of nitrate and Cr(VI) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain G12 in wastewater

The interference of toxic heavy metals in the process of microbial aerobic denitrification is a hot issue in industry wastewater treatment in recent years. In this study, a multifunctional aerobic denitrifying bacterium - Pseudomonas aeruginosa G12 isolated from sewage sludge was used to explore the simultaneous removal ability to NO₃^--N and Cr(VI) in wastewater by a series of batch experiments. The results showed that G12 could effectively remove NO₃^--N (500 mg L^-1) and Cr(VI) (10 mg L^-1) by 98% and 93%, respectively. Meanwhile, the study found that the strain G12 had the potential to adapt to the complex external environment, including different carbon resources, nitrogen sources, and the coexisting heavy metals (Mn²⁺ and Cu²⁺). The strain G12 also had the considerable tolerance to initial NO₃^--N (100-700 mg L^-1) and Cr(VI) (1-20 mg L^-1) concentrations. The instrument analysis methods-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), from the molecular level, further confirmed that the strain G12 could remove NO₃^--N by aerobic denitrification, and the reduced functional groups (amino group, amide group, hydroxyl group and carboxyl group) on the surface of bacteria could transform Cr(VI) to Cr(III) (mainly CrCl₃). This study will offer a promising new microbial resource for nitrogen and Cr(VI) removal in industry wastewater treatment.

Cometabolic biotransformation of 1,4-dioxane in mixtures with hexavalent chromium using attached and planktonic bacteria

Biological treatment of 1,4-dioxane, a probable human carcinogen and a recalcitrant contaminant of concern, is often complicated by the presence of inhibitory co-contaminants. Due to its use as a solvent, wetting agent, and stabilizer for chlorinated solvents employed in metal vapor degreasing, 1,4-dioxane has often been found to occur with a variety of co-contaminants, including heavy metals such as hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)]. Cr(VI) also occurs naturally in groundwater due to geological formations, but also has sources that can coincide with 1,4-dioxane from anthropogenic activities such as metal vapor degreasing. Biodegradation of 1,4-dioxane can be accomplished by microbes that use it as a source of carbon or energy as well as those that cometabolize it after growth on other organic substrates. A propanotroph, Mycobacterium austroafricanum JOB5, was grown in planktonic pure cultures and biofilms to determine its ability to cometabolize 1,4-dioxane in the presence of varying concentrations of Cr(VI). 1,4-Dioxane cometabolism by JOB5 planktonic cells was uninhibited by Cr(VI) at levels up to 10 mg/L, while biofilms were only mildly inhibited at 10 mg/L. As an important part of the biofilms commonly found in subsurface aquifers and engineered systems, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were found to play an important role in preventing Cr(VI) exposure to cells. We observed that soluble EPS were able to bind to Cr(VI) and theorize that biofilm-associated EPS additionally served to impede penetration of the biofilm structure by Cr(VI), thus mitigating exposure and toxicity. These findings suggest that bioremediation would be a viable treatment strategy for 1,4-dioxane-contaminated waters that contain elevated levels of Cr(VI) in natural and built environments.

A review of chromite mining in Sukinda Valley of India: impact and potential remediation measures

Sukinda Valley, one of the highly polluted areas of the world is generating tons of mining waste and causing serious health and environmental issues in its surroundings. Several reports are available reporting the severity of hexavalent chromium, yet little efforts have been made to address the pollution and its remediation due to a lack of proper remedial measures. The review highlights the pros and cons of various physical, chemical and biological techniques used worldwide for the treatment of chromium waste and also suggests better and reliable bioremediation measures. Microbes such as Acidophilium and Acidithiobacillus caldus (Bioleaching), Pseudomonas, Micrococcus and Bacillus (Bioreduction), Aereobacterium and Saccharomyces (Biosorption), are widely used for bioremediation of hexavalent chromium owing to their unique metabolic activities, ionic movement through an extracellular membrane, and other cellular adsorptions and reduction properties. The use of native and hybrid combinations of microbes supported by organic supplements is projected as a fast and efficient technique that not only reduces chromium quantity but also maintains the integrity of the microbial sources. Innovation and emphasis on nano-based products like nanocomposite, nano adsorbent, nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles and multifunctional plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) will serve as the next generation environmental remediation technologies in the near future.

Heavy Metal Toxicity in Armed Conflicts Potentiates AMR in A. baumannii by Selecting for Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Co-resistance Mechanisms

Acinetobacter baumannii has become increasingly resistant to leading antimicrobial agents since the 1970s. Increased resistance appears linked to armed conflicts, notably since widespread media stories amplified clinical reports in the wake of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. Antimicrobial resistance is usually assumed to arise through selection pressure exerted by antimicrobial treatment, particularly where treatment is inadequate, as in the case of low dosing, substandard antimicrobial agents, or shortened treatment course. Recently attention has focused on an emerging pathogen, multi-drug resistant A. baumannii (MDRAb). MDRAb gained media attention after being identified in American soldiers returning from Iraq and treated in US military facilities, where it was termed "Iraqibacter." However, MDRAb is strongly associated in the literature with war injuries that are heavily contaminated by both environmental debris and shrapnel from weapons. Both may harbor substantial amounts of toxic heavy metals. Interestingly, heavy metals are known to also select for antimicrobial resistance. In this review we highlight the potential causes of antimicrobial resistance by heavy metals, with a focus on its emergence in A. baumanni in war zones.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals novel insights into the response to Cr(VI) exposure in Cr(VI) tolerant ectomycorrhizal fungi Pisolithus sp. 1 LS-2017

Chromium (Cr) is one of the most toxic heavy metals and a health hazard to millions of people worldwide. Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi can assist plants in phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. Cr tolerance differs among ECM fungal varieties, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of Cr tolerance in ECM fungi are not clear. This study identified, analysed and compared the Cr(VI)-induced transcriptional changes between Cr(VI)-tolerant strain (Pisolithus sp. 1 LS-2017) and Cr(VI)-sensitive strain (Pisolithus sp. 2 LS-2017) by de novo transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that 93,642 assembled unique transcripts representing the 22,353 (46.76%) unigenes matched the proteins we have known in the Nr database and 47,801 unigenes were got from the Pisolithus spp. For DEGs between the control and 10 mg/L Cr(VI) treatment, cyanoamino acid metabolic, type I diabetes mellitus metabolism, nitrogen metabolism and beta-Alanine metabolism pathways were significantly enriched (p < 0.05) in Pisolithus sp. 1 LS-2017. Two nitrate reductase family genes (nidD, niiA) provide Cr(VI) tolerance for Pisolithus sp. 1 LS-2017 by regulating Cr(VI) reduction. In addition, NO produced by nidD, niiA regulated denitrification can alleviate Cr(VI) induced oxidative stress. In Pisolithus sp. 2 LS-2017, the alcC, aldA and lcf2 gene may alleviate Cr(VI) induced oxidative stress by protecting SH groups and increasing secondary metabolism, reducing detoxify aldehydes to carboxylic acids and producing LCPUFAs respectively; .T gene regulate Cr(VI) induced wound healing by pigmentation and stability of melanin in spore; MKP2 gene accelerate Cr(VI) induced cell death and gpmA gene regulated Cr(VI) induced energy emergency.

Mechanisms of Cr(VI) reduction by Bacillus sp. CRB-1, a novel Cr(VI)-reducing bacterium isolated from tannery activated sludge

Cr(VI) reduction by microorganisms has been extensively reported, however, the mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction varies among different microorganisms. In this study, a Cr(VI)-reducing bacterium identified as Bacillus sp. was isolated from tannery activated sludge, strain CRB-1 was able to completely reduce 50 mg/L of Cr(VI) within 24 h under aerobic conditions and exhibited considerable Cr(VI) removal efficiency in the pH range from 7.0 to 9.0, temperature 24-42 °C. Cr(VI) reduction assays with resting cells, permeabilized cells, and subcellular fractions suggested that Cr(VI) reduction mainly occurred in the cytoplasm. According to qRT-PCR analysis, a chrA gene and a nitR2 gene were up-regulated under Cr(VI) stress. Heterologous expression of the chrA gene and the nitR2 gene indicated that ChrA was associated with Cr(VI) resistance, while NitR2 was responsible for Cr(VI) reduction. Furthermore, soluble end products were detected. On the basis of FTIR, it was speculated that the formation of soluble end products may be due to the complexation of EPS with Cr(III). Consequently, the Cr(VI)-reducing ability of strain CRB-1 and its chromate reductases enables CRB-1 a potential candidate for Cr(VI) bioremediation.

Response of Cupriavidus basilensis B-8 to CuO nanoparticles enhances Cr(VI) reduction

CuO nanoparticles (NPs) released into aqueous environments induce metal toxicity, which generally exerts negative effects on various organisms and leads to great challenge for wastewater biotreatment. In this study, a promotion effect of CuO NPs on biological process was first found. Cr(VI) reduction by Cupriavidus basilensis B-8 (hereafter B-8) was enhanced in the presence of CuO NPs. The efficiency of Cr(VI) bioreduction was much higher with B-8 and CuO NPs (approximately 100%) than with B-8 (approximately 37.6%) and CuO NPs (39.9-44.7%) alone, indicating a stimulatory effect of CuO NPs on Cr(VI) reduction by B-8. Our material analyses revealed different response mechanisms of B-8 to Cr(VI), with and without CuO NPs. The addition of CuO NPs influenced the interaction of Cr(VI) with the N-, P-, S-, and C-related functional groups of B-8. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that multiple mechanisms, including Cr(VI) uptake and reactive oxygen species detoxification, were induced by Cr(VI). Many genes involved in various metabolic processes were significantly upregulated by the addition of CuO NPs. To a certain extent, the pressure of DNA repairment by B-8 induced by Cr(VI) was also alleviated by the presence of CuO NPs. They contributed to facilitate B-8 growth and enhance Cr(VI) reduction, even with 50 mg/L Cr(VI). This study not only elaborated the mechanisms of bacterial Cr(VI) reduction when enhanced by CuO NPs, but also provided a novel perspective for wastewater biotreatment.

Expression of Rice Metallothionein Isoforms in Escherichia coli Enhances the Accumulation of Trivalent and Hexavalent Chromium

INTRODUCTION

Metallothioneins (MTs) are members of a family of low molecular weight and cysteine-rich proteins that are involved in heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification in living organisms. Plants have multiple MT types that are generally divided into four subgroups according to the arrangement of Cys residues.

METHODS

In the present study the E. coli cells which heterologously express four different rice MT (OsMT) isoforms were analyzed for the accumulation of two forms of chromium, Cr3+ and Cr6+.

RESULTS

The results show that the transgenic bacteria were more tolerant than control cells when they were grown up in the medium comprising Cr(NO3)3.9H2O or Na2CrO4. The cells expressing OsMT1, OsMT2, OsMT3 and OsMT4 give rise to 6.5-, 2.7-, 5.5- and 2.1-fold improvements on the accumulation capacity for Cr3+ and 9-, 3-, 5- and 3- fold Cr6+ respectively compared with comparison to the control strain. Furthermore, the purified recombinant GST-OsMTs were tested for their binding ability to Cr+3 and Cr+6 in vitro.

DISCUSSION

The data show that the recombinant GST-OsMT1 and GST-OsMT2 were able to bind both Cr3+ and Cr6+, in vitro. However, their binding strength was low with respect to previous tested divalent ions like Cd2+.