Norma G. Rojas-Avelizapa

Identification of Bacillus megaterium and Microbacterium liquefaciens genes involved in metal resistance and metal removal

Bacillus megaterium MNSH1-9K-1 and Microbacterium liquefaciens MNSH2-PHGII-2, 2 nickel- and vanadium-resistant bacteria from mine tailings located in Guanajuato, Mexico, are shown to have the ability to remove 33.1% and 17.8% of Ni, respectively, and 50.8% and 14.0% of V, respectively, from spent petrochemical catalysts containing 428 ± 30 mg·kg(-1) Ni and 2165 ± 77 mg·kg(-1) V. In these strains, several Ni resistance determinants were detected by conventional PCR. The nccA (nickel-cobalt-cadmium resistance) was found for the first time in B. megaterium. In M. liquefaciens, the above gene as well as the czcD gene (cobalt-zinc-cadmium resistance) and a high-affinity nickel transporter were detected for the first time. This study characterizes the resistance of M. liquefaciens and B. megaterium to Ni through the expression of genes conferring metal resistance.

Microbacterium oxydans and Microbacterium liquefaciens: a biological alternative for the treatment of Ni-V-containing wastes.

The present study evaluated 15 isolates obtained of environmental samples capable of tolerating high Ni and V concentrations. Those coded as MNSH2-PHGII-1, MNSH2-PHGII-2 and MV-PHGII-2 showed a minimum inhibitory concentration higher than 200 ppm for Ni and V and showed removal percentages corresponding to 84, 75 and 26% for Ni and 60, 55 and 20.3% for V, respectively, in liquid medium. When spent catalyst was added at 16% (w/v) pulp density, the highest Ni and V removal corresponded to MNSH2-PHGII-1 and MNSH2-PHGII-2, which were identified as Microbacterium oxydans and Microbacterium liquefaciens respectively, Microbacterium oxydans was able to remove Ni at the extent of 45.4% and V at 30.4% while Microbacterium liquefaciens removed Ni at 51% and V at 41.4% from the spent catalyst. The isolate MV-PHGII-2 identified also as Microbacterium oxydans showed the lowest removal for Ni and V corresponding to 16% and 9.5%, respectively. This is the first report where strains of Microbacterium were tested for their abilities to remove Ni and V from spent catalyst, suggesting its potential use in the treatment of this solid industrial waste.

Microbial treatment of sulfur-contaminated industrial wastes

The present study evaluated the microbial removal of sulfur from a solid industrial waste in liquid culture under laboratory conditions. The study involved the use of two bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 53987 and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans AZCT-M125-5 isolated from a Mexican soil. Experimentation for industrial waste biotreatment was done in liquid culture using 125-mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing 30 mL Starkey modified culture medium and incubated at 30°C during 7 days. The industrial waste was added at different pulp densities (8.25–100% w/v) corresponding to different sulfur contents from 0.7 to 8.63% (w/w). Sulfur-oxidizing activity of the strain AZCT-M125-5 produced 281 and 262 mg/g of sulfate and a sulfur removal of 60% and 45.7% when the pulp density was set at 8.25 and 16.5% (w/v), respectively. In comparison, the strain A. ferrooxidans ATCC 53987 showed a lower sulfur-oxidizing activity with a sulfate production of 25.6 and 12.7 mg/g and a sulfur removal of 6% and 2.5% at the same pulp densities, respectively. Microbial growth was limited by pulp densities higher than 25% (w/v) of industrial waste with minimal sulfur-oxidizing activity and sulfur removal. The rate of sulfur removal for Acidithiobacillus thioxidans AZCT-M125-5 and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 53987 was 0.185 and 0.0159 mg S g−1 h−1 with a pulp density of 16.5% (w/v), respectively. This study demonstrated that Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans AZCT-M125-5 possesses a high sulfur-oxidizing activity, even at high sulfur concentration, which allows the treatment of hazardous materials.

Synthesis of Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles by Biomass of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

This study describes extracellular biosynthesis of cadmium sulfide quantum dots by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Mycelia was incubated with a cadmium sulfate solution at 30°C and after 12 days the mixture became yellow, then the biomass was discarded through paper filtration. The filtrate containing extracellular cadmium sulfide quantum dots displayed increased UV-Vis absorption from 300 - 500 nm and fluorescence at 520 nm which was not shown when incubated without cadmium sulfide, thus indicating the presence of biologically synthesized quantum dots. Transmission electron microscope analysis of biologically synthesized quantum dots evinced individual 2 - 6 nm diameter circular nanoparticles of uniform size. Energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the presence of S and Cd. Additionally, this study showed the relevance in the use of positive and negative controls when evaluating the biosynthesis of CdS quantum dots using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometry.

Diverse molecular resistance mechanisms of Bacillus megaterium during metal removal present in a spent catalyst

Bacillus megaterium strain MNSH1-9K-1, isolated from a high-metal content site in Guanajuato, Mexico, has the intrinsic capacity to remove vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) from a petrochemical spent catalyst, and counteract the toxic effects produced in the cell due to the presence of oxidative stress. Since knowledge of the molecular components involved in the microbial resistance to spent catalysts is scarce, this study aimed to identify the proteins potentially involved in the enhanced resistance of a B. megaterium strain, during the removal of metals contained in a spent catalyst. Thus, the current research uses a proteomic approach to investigate and evidence the differences in the molecular resistance mechanisms of two B. megaterium strains, one isolated from a mining site and a wild type strain, when both are exposed to a spent catalyst. In addition, we studied their ability to eliminate nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), aluminum (Al) and molybdenum (Mo). The data presented here may contribute to the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in the resistance of B. megaterium to high metal content wastes, as well as its potential utilization for the recovery of valuable industrial metals.