Huaming Qin

Biosorption of chromium from aqueous solution and electroplating wastewater using mixture of Candida lipolytica and dewatered sewage sludge

In this study, the objective was to investigate Cr removal from aqueous solutions, as well as Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn from electroplating wastewaters by the mixture of Candida lipolytica and sewage sludge. The bioreduction ratios of Cr(VI) and the removal ratios of total Cr showed that initial pH, biosorbent dosage and contact time were the important parameters for Cr biosorption. The range of optimal pH for the mixture (1-5) was wider than C. lipolytica (1-4) and sewage sludge (2-4), respectively. Biosorption and bioreduction potentials of living C. lipolytica were better than those of cell wall and cytoplasm. Bonded hydroxyl group, CH(2) asymmetric stretch, amide I, amide II, amide III, secondary amide, pyridine(I)beta(C-H) and pyridine(II)beta(C-H) were detected in the biosorbent and they were the functional groups for binding Cr. The effect of Cu and Zn in combination was significant on the removal of total Cr and the bioreduction of Cr(VI).

Biodegradation of anthracene by Aspergillus fumigatus

An anthracene-degrading strain, identified as Aspergillus fumigatus, showed a favorable ability in degradation of anthracene. The degradation efficiency could be maintained at about 60% after 5d with initial pH of the medium kept between 5 and 7.5, and the optimal temperature of 30 °C. The activity of this strain was not affected significantly by high salinity. Exploration on co-metabolism showed that the highest degradation efficiency was reached at equal concentration of lactose and anthracene. Excessive carbon source would actually hamper the degradation efficiency. Meanwhile, the strain could utilize some aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, phenol etc. as sole source of carbon and energy, indicating its degradation diversity. Experiments on enzymatic degradation indicated that extracellular enzymes secreted by A. fumigatus could metabolize anthracene effectively, in which the lignin peroxidase may be the most important constituent. Analysis of ion chromatography showed that the release of anions of A. fumigatus was not affected by addition of anthracene. GC-MS analysis revealed that the molecular structure of anthracene changed with the action of the microbe, generating a series of intermediate compounds such as phthalic anhydride, anthrone and anthraquinone by ring-cleavage reactions.

Proteome and phospholipid alteration reveal metabolic network of Bacillus thuringiensis under triclosan stress

Triclosan is a common antibacterial agent widely applied in various household and personal care products. The molecule, cell, organ and organism-level understanding of its toxicity pose to some target organisms has been investigated, whereas, the alteration of a single metabolic reaction, gene or protein cannot reflect the impact of triclosan on metabolic network. To clarify the interaction between triclosan stress and metabolism at network and system levels, phospholipid synthesis, and cellular proteome and metabolism of Bacillus thuringiensis under 1μM of triclosan stress were investigated through omics approaches. The results showed that C14:0, C16:1ω7, C16:0 and C18:2ω6 were significantly up-produced, and 19 proteins were differentially expressed. Whereas, energy supply, protein repair and the synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein were down-regulated. PyrH and Eno could be biomarkers to reflect triclosan stress. At network level, the target proteins ACOX1, AHR, CAR, CYP1A, CYP1B1, DNMT1, ENO, HSP60, HSP70, SLC5A5, TPO and UGT expressed in different species shared high sequence homology with the same function proteins found in Homo sapiens not only validated their role as biomarkers but also implied the potential impact of triclosan on the metabolic pathways and network of humans. These findings provided novel insights into the metabolic influence of triclosan at network levels, and developed an omics approach to evaluate the safety of target compound.

Metabolic and proteomic mechanism of bisphenol A degradation by Bacillus thuringiensis

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a worldwide, widespread pollutant with estrogen mimicking and hormone-like properties. To date, some target biomolecules associated with BPA toxicity have been confirmed. The limited information has not clarified the related metabolism at the pathway and network levels. To this end, metabolic and proteomic approaches were performed to reveal the synthesis of phospholipids and proteins and the metabolic network during the BPA degradation process. The results showed that the degradation efficiency of 1 μM of BPA by 1 g L-1 of Bacillus thuringiensis was up to 85% after 24 h. During this process, BPA significantly changed the membrane permeability; altered sporulation, amino acid and protein expression, and carbon, purine, pyrimidine and fatty acid metabolism; enhanced C14:0, C16:1ω7, C18:2ω6, C18:1ω9t and C18:0 synthesis; and increased the trans/cis ratio of C18:1ω9t/C18:1ω9c. It also depressed the spore DNA stability of B. thuringiensis. Among the 14 upregulated and 7 down-regulated proteins, SasP-1 could be a biomarker to reflect BPA-triggered spore DNA impairment. TpiA, RpoA, GlnA and InfA could be phosphorylated at the active sites of serine and tyrosine. The findings presented novel insights into the interaction among BPA stress, BPA degradation, phospholipid synthesis and protein expression at the network and phylogenetic levels.

Global proteomic responses of Escherichia coli and evolution of biomarkers under tetracycline stress at acid and alkaline conditions

The global proteomic regulation and the mechanism of biomolecule evolution in acid and alkaline ecosystems triggered by tetracycline, a representative of antibiotics, are not clear. To reveal the related mechanisms, the global responses of Escherichia (E.) coli to tetracycline in acid and alkaline conditions were analyzed using a proteomic approach. The specific phospholipid C16:1ω9c showed a significant decrease between the treatment and control groups. The 77 and 111 upregulated proteins in E. coli in acid and alkaline groups were mainly involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism and energy metabolism, whereas, the 78 downregulated proteins were related to ribosome and bacterial chemotaxis in the acid group. The 110 downregulated proteins involved in carbon, glycine, serine, threonine, glyoxylate, and dicarboxylate metabolism, biosynthesis of antibiotics, fatty acids, and secondary metabolites in the alkaline group. Protein sequence analysis showed that the respective distribution of phosphorylation, glycosylation, and methylation sites among stable-expressed, upregulated, and downregulated proteins all showed a significant difference. TolC and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pck) in E. coli could be biomarkers to reflect tetracycline stress under extreme conditions with high sequence homology in Homo sapiens, implying the potential impact of tetracycline on humans at the network level. Generally, E. coli in the acid group accelerated the highly efficient protection mechanism to defend against tetracycline stress, while E. coli in the alkaline group strongly impaired the protection mechanism. These findings provide important clues to reveal the microbial antibiotic resistance mechanism in E. coli under extreme conditions and perfect the antibiotic usage.

Cellular metabolism network of Bacillus thuringiensis related to erythromycin stress and degradation

Erythromycin is one of the most widely used macrolide antibiotics. To present a system-level understanding of erythromycin stress and degradation, proteome, phospholipids and membrane potentials were investigated after the erythromycin degradation. Bacillus thuringiensis could effectively remove 77% and degrade 53% of 1 µM erythromycin within 24 h. The 36 up-regulated and 22 down-regulated proteins were mainly involved in spore germination, chaperone and nucleic acid binding. Up-regulated ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase and ribosomal proteins confirmed that the synthesis of protein, DNA and RNA were enhanced after the erythromycin degradation. The reaction network of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis was activated, whereas, the activity of spore germination was decreased. The increased synthesis of phospholipids, especially, palmitoleic acid and oleic acid, altered the membrane permeability for erythromycin transport. Ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase and palmitoleic acid could be biomarkers to reflect erythromycin exposure. Lipids, disease, pyruvate metabolism and citrate cycle in human cells could be the target pathways influenced by erythromycin. The findings presented novel insights to the interaction among erythromycin stress, protein interaction and metabolism network, and provided a useful protocol for investigating cellular metabolism responses under pollutant stress.