Heterologous expression of azoreductase-encoding gene azrS of Bacillus sp. MR-1/2 for enhanced azo dye decolorization and wastewater treatment

Antimicrobial activity of the biologically synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles against important rice pathogens

Global rice production is seriously affected by many abiotic and biotic factors. Among the aggressive rice pathogens, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (X. o. pv. oryzae), Bipolaris oryzae (B. oryzae) and Sphaerulina oryzina (S. oryzina) cause bacterial leaf blight, brown leaf spot and narrow brown leaf spot diseases, respectively. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) as antimicrobial agent to control rice pathogens. This is the first report of antifungal activity evaluation of ZnO NPs against B. oryzae and S. oryzina. A pre-characterized bacterial strain Escherichia sp. SINT7 was bio-prospected for synthesis of green ZnO NPs. The NPs were confirmed by a characteristic peak measured at 360.96 nm through UV-Vis spectroscopy. Further, the NPs were characterized to elucidate the surface capping molecules, crystallite structure and morphology by various spectroscopic and imaging techniques, which confirmed the spherical shape of NPs with size ranging from 13.07 to 22.25 nm. In vitro studies against X. o. pv. oryzae pathogen depicted the substantial antibacterial activity (up to 25.7 mm inhibition zone at 20 μg/ml NPs concentration). Similarly, ZnO NPs reduced the mycelial growth of B. oryzae and S. oryzina up to 72.68 and 95.78%, respectively at 50 μg/ml concentration on potato dextrose agar plates, while the mycelial biomass reduction was found to be 64.66 and 68. 49% for B. oryzae and S. oryzina, respectively on potato dextrose broth media as compared to control without the addition of NPs. The green ZnO NPs also significantly reduced the fungal spore germination and a disintegration of fungal hyphae for both fungal strains was observed under the microscope as a result of NPs treatment. Hence, it was concluded that biologically synthesized ZnO NPs are potential antimicrobials and could be compared in greenhouse pathogenicity assays with commercial pesticides to control rice pathogens.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-022-01251-y.

Co-metabolic biodegradation of structurally discrepant dyestuffs by Klebsiella sp. KL-1: A molecular mechanism with regards to the differential responsiveness

In this study, an attempt was made to decipher the underlying differential response mechanism of Klebsiella sp. KL-1 induced by exposure to disparate categories of dyestuffs in xylose (Xyl) co-metabolic system. Here, representative reactive black 5 (RB5), remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) and malachite green (MG) belonging to the azo, anthraquinone and triphenylmethane categories were employed as three model dyestuffs. Klebsiella sp. KL-1 enabled nearly 98%, 80% or 97% removal of contaminants in assays Xyl + RB5, Xyl + RBBR or Xyl + MG after 48 h, which was respectively 16%, 11% or 22% higher than those in the assays devoid of xylose. LC-QTOF-MS revealed an increased formation of smaller molecular weight intermediates in assay Xyl + RB5, whereas more metabolic pathways were deduced in assay Xyl + RBBR. Metaproteomics analysis displayed remarkable proteome alteration with regards to the structural difference effect of dyestuffs by Klebsiella sp. KL-1. Significant (p-value<0.05) activation of pivotal candidate NADH-quinone oxidoreductase occurred after 48 h of disparate dyestuff exposure but with varying abundance. Dominant FMN-dependent NADH-azoreductase, Cytochrome d terminal oxidase or Thiol peroxidase were likewise deemed to be responsible for the catalytic cleavage of RB5, RBBR or MG, respectively. Further, the differential response mechanism towards the structurally discrepant dyestuffs was put forward. Elevated reducing force associated with the corresponding functional proteins/enzymes was transferred to the exterior of the cell to differentially decompose the target contaminants. Overall, this study was dedicated to provide in-depth insights into the molecular response mechanism of co-metabolic degradation of refractory and structurally discrepant dyestuffs by an indigenous isolated Klebsiella strain.

Biodegradation and Detoxification of Azo Dyes by Halophilic/Halotolerant Microflora Isolated From the Salt Fields of Tibet Autonomous Region China

This study aimed to decolorize azo dyes in high-salt industrial wastewater under high-salt and low oxygen conditions using extreme halophilic/halotolerant bacteria screened from the salt fields of Tibet, which consisted of Enterococcus, unclassified Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus, Bacillus, and Kosakonia. Under the optimal conditions, 600 mg/l Congo red, Direct Black G (DBG), Amaranth, methyl red, and methyl orange could be completely decolorized in 24, 8, 8, 12, and 12 h, respectively. When the DBG concentration was 600 mg/l, NADH–DCIP, laccase, and azo reductase were confirmed to be the primary reductase and oxidase during the degradation process, and the degradation pathways were verified. The microflora could not only tolerate changes in salt concentrations of 0–80 g/l, but also displayed strong degradative ability. Under high-salt concentrations (≥ 60 g/l NaCl), NADH–DCIP reductase was primarily used to decolorize the azo dye. However, under low salt concentrations (≤ 40 g/l NaCl), azo reductase began to function, and manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase could cooperate to participate in DBG degradation. Additionally, the halophilic/halophilic microflora was shown to convert the toxic DBG dye to metabolites of low toxicity based on phytotoxicity analysis, and a new mechanism for the microflora to degrade DBG was proposed based on intermediates identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS). This study revealed that the halophilic/halophilic microflora has effective ecological and industrial value for treating wastewater from the textile industry.