Cd, Cu, Ni, Mn and Zn resistance and bioaccumulation by thermophilic bacteria, Geobacillus toebii subsp. decanicus and Geobacillus thermoleovorans subsp. stromboliensis

From waste management to circular economy: Leveraging thermophiles for sustainable growth and global resource optimization

Waste of any origin is one of the most serious global and man-made concerns of our day. It causes climate change, environmental degradation, and human health problems. Proper waste management practices, including waste reduction, safe handling, and appropriate treatment, are essential to mitigate these consequences. It is thus essential to implement effective waste management strategies that reduce waste at the source, promote recycling and reuse, and safely dispose of waste. Transitioning to a circular economy with policies involving governments, industries, and individuals is essential for sustainable growth and waste management. The review focuses on diverse kinds of environmental waste sources around the world, such as residential, industrial, commercial, municipal services, electronic wastes, wastewater sewerage, and agricultural wastes, and their challenges in efficiently valorizing them into useful products. It highlights the need for rational waste management, circularity, and sustainable growth, and the potential of a circular economy to address these challenges. The article has explored the role of thermophilic microbes in the bioremediation of waste. Thermophiles known for their thermostability and thermostable enzymes, have emerged to have diverse applications in biotechnology and various industrial processes. Several approaches have been explored to unlock the potential of thermophiles in achieving the objective of establishing a zero-carbon sustainable bio-economy and minimizing waste generation. Various thermophiles have demonstrated substantial potential in addressing different waste challenges. The review findings affirm that thermophilic microbes have emerged as pivotal and indispensable candidates for harnessing and valorizing a range of environmental wastes into valuable products, thereby fostering the bio-circular economy.

The Effects of Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) on Thermophilic Bacteria: Antibacterial, Morphological, Physiological and Biochemical Investigations

Since thermophilic microorganisms are valuable sources of thermostable enzymes, it is essential to recognize the potential toxicity of silver nanoparticles used in diverse industrial sectors. Thermophilic bacteria Geobacillus vulcani 2Cx, Bacillus licheniformis 3CA, Paenibacillus macerans 3CA1, Anoxybacillus ayderensis FMB1, and Bacillus paralicheniformis FMB2-1 were selected, and their MIC and MBC values were assessed by treatment with AgNPs in a range of 62.5-1500 μg mL-1. The growth inhibition curves showed that the G. vulcani 2Cx, and B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 strains were more sensitive to AgNPs, demonstrating a reduction in population by 71.1% and 31.7% at 62.5 μg mL-1 and by 82.9% and 72.8% at 250 μg mL-1, respectively. TEM and FT-IR analysis revealed that AgNPs caused structural damage, cytoplasmic leakage, and disruption of cellular integrity. Furthermore, cell viability showed a significant decrease alongside an increase in superoxide radical (SOR; O2-) production. β-galactosidase biosynthesis decreased to 28.8% level at 500 μg mL-1 AgNPs for G. vulcani 2Cx, 32.2% at 250 μg mL-1 for A. ayderensis FMB1, and 38.8% only at 62.5 μg mL-1, but it was completely inhibited at 500 μg mL-1 for B. licheniformis 3CA. Moreover, B. paralicheniformis FMB2-1 showed a significant decrease to 11.2% at 125 μg mL-1. This study is the first to reveal the toxic effects of AgNPs on thermophilic bacteria.

Metal tolerance and biosorption capacities of bacterial strains isolated from an urban watershed

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to widespread metal contamination in aquatic ecosystems. This study explores the metal tolerance and biosorption characteristics of four bacterial strains (Serratia sp. L2, Raoultella sp. L30, Klebsiella sp. R3, and Klebsiella sp. R19) isolated from Saint Clair River sediments. These strains effectively removed various metal cations (As3+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Cr6+, and Ni2+) in single and multi-metal solutions. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays revealed strain-specific variations in metal tolerance, with L2 and L30 exhibiting higher tolerance. Surprisingly, R3 and R19, despite lower tolerance, demonstrated superior metal removal efficiency, challenging the notion that tolerance dictates removal efficacy. In single-metal solutions, R3 and R19 excelled at extracting various metal ions, while competitive binding in multi-metal solutions hindered removal. However, R3 and R19 retained higher removal efficiencies, possibly due to enhanced flocculation activities facilitating metal-ion contact. Comprehensive Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis highlighted the strains' metal-binding capabilities, with novel peaks emerging after metal exposure, indicative of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed metal accumulation on bacterial surfaces and within cytoplasmic regions and revealed morphological changes and metal adsorption patterns, emphasizing the strains' ability to adapt to metal stress. Scanning transmission microscopy (STEM) and EDX analysis uncovered metal accumulation within bacterial cells, underscoring the complexity of microbial-metal interactions. This study also confirms that the simultaneous presence of an aqueous solution may cause a mutual inhibition in the adsorption of each metal to the EPS resulting in reduced metal uptake, which emphasizes the need to select specific bacterial strains for a given metal-containing effluent. The differences in metal distribution patterns between Klebsiella sp. R19 and Raoultella sp. L30 suggest species-specific metal accumulation strategies driven by environmental conditions and metal availability. The heavy metal-removing capabilities and the ability to grow over a wide range of metal concentrations of the strains used in this study may offer an advantage to employ these organisms for metal remediation in bioreactors or in situ.

The removal of heavy metal pollution from wastewaters using thermophilic B. cereus SO-16 bacteria

In this study, bioaccumulation, remediation, tolerance, and effects of manganese ions (Mn(II)) and copper ions (Cu(II)) on antioxidant enzymes of thermophilic Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) SO-16 were investigated in detail. The findings of the study showed that Mn(II) was less toxic than Cu(II) to B. cereus SO-16. Moreover, B. cereus SO-16 was exhibited less tolerance to Mn(II) and Cu(II) ions in the liquid medium compared to the solid medium. The growth of bacteria was expressively effective for Mn(II) and Cu(II) concentrations of 2.5 mg/L at 24th h. The highest Mn(II) and Cu(II) bioaccumulation values after 48 h incubation of thermophilic B. cereus SO-16 were measured as 102.04 (24th h) and 87.96 (36th h) metal/dry bacteria weight. The change in morphology and functionality of B. cereus SO-16 after interaction with Mn(II) and Cu(II) was tested using various methods. The results indicated that B. cereus SO-16, a thermophilic bacterium, can be utilized in industrial wastewaters to recover and remediation of toxic metals.

Manganese Pollution and Its Remediation: A Review of Biological Removal and Promising Combination Strategies

Manganese (Mn), as a cofactor of multiple enzymes, exhibits great significance to the human body, plants and animals. It is also a critical raw material and alloying element. However, extensive employment for industrial purposes leads to its excessive emission into the environment and turns into a significant threat to the ecosystem and public health. This review firstly introduces the essentiality, toxicity and regulation of Mn. Several traditional physicochemical methods and their problems are briefly discussed as well. Biological remediation, especially microorganism-mediated strategies, is a potential alternative for remediating Mn-polluted environments in a cost-efficient and eco-friendly manner. Among them, microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), biosorption, bioaccumulation, bio-oxidation are discussed in detail, including their mechanisms, pivotal influencing factors along with strengths and limitations. In order to promote bioremediation efficiency, the combination of different techniques is preferable, and their research progress is also summarized. Finally, we propose the future directions of Mn bioremediation by microbes. Conclusively, this review provides a scientific basis for the microbial remediation performance for Mn pollution and guides the development of a comprehensive competent strategy towards practical Mn remediation.

Anoxybacillus flavithermus loaded ɣ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles as an efficient magnetic sorbent for the preconcentrations of Cu(II) and Mn(II)

It was hypothesized that -iron( oxide nanoparticles (ɣ-Fe₂O₃ NPs) functionalized with Anoxybacillus flavithermus (A. flavithermus) as an effective magnetic sorbent for the preconcentrations of toxic metal ions. It is clear to conclude that the main novelty of this study is that ɣ-Fe₂O₃ NPs loaded with A. flavithermus is selective-specific for Cu(II), Mn(II). Structural functional groups of the samples were elucidated by FTIR, and SEM. Significant experimental parameters were investigated in detail. 0.2 mL min^-1 of flow rate, 5 mL of 1 M of hydrochloric acid as eluent, 150 mg biogenic mass sample, and 150 mg ɣ-Fe₂O₃ NPs for supporting material were found as the best conditions. This developed method has been tested and verified using certified and standard reference materials. As a result of the studies, the pre-concentration factor of the Cu(II), Mn(II) metals was calculated as 40. All measurements showed that the developed solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns are available for 32 cycles. The use of ɣ-Fe₂O₃ NPs equipped with A. flavithermus as an effective magnetic sorbent for the first measurements of ions was thoroughly studied. In order of the biosorption capacities were calculated as 26.0, and 30.3 mg/g for Cu(II), Mn(II), respectively. The developed method for specifying the samples showed excellent to excellent results.

Preconcentrations of Cu (II) and Mn (II) by magnetic solid-phase extraction on Bacillus cereus loaded γ-Fe2O3 nanomaterials

For the simultaneous preconcentrations of Cu(II) and Mn(II), a novel preconcentration technique was developed and described. Bacillus cereus loaded magnetic ɣ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were prepared and used as support materials on solid-phase extraction procedure. Important experimental parameters were investigated in details and pH 6.0, 3 mL min^-1 of flow rate, 5 mL of 1 mol L^-1 of HCl as eluent, 200 mg of biomass, and 200 mg of magnetic ɣ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles as support material was found as the best conditions. The preconcentrations factor were found to be 80 for Cu (II) and Mn(II). It was confirmed by the results that SPE columns could be used in 32 cycles. The LOD values calculated for Cu (II) and Mn (II) were 0.09 and 0.08 ng mL^-1, respectively. The RSD values found were less than 3.4%. The extraction recoveries were achieved as higher than 98%. The biosorption capacities of Cu (II), and Mn (II) were 26.0 mg g^-1, 30.3 mg g^-1 respectively. The approach devised for analyzing analyte concentrations in food samples proved to be successful.

Extremophiles, a Nifty Tool to Face Environmental Pollution: From Exploitation of Metabolism to Genome Engineering

Extremophiles are microorganisms that populate habitats considered inhospitable from an anthropocentric point of view and are able to tolerate harsh conditions such as high temperatures, extreme pHs, high concentrations of salts, toxic organic substances, and/or heavy metals. These microorganisms have been broadly studied in the last 30 years and represent precious sources of biomolecules and bioprocesses for many biotechnological applications; in this context, scientific efforts have been focused on the employment of extremophilic microbes and their metabolic pathways to develop biomonitoring and bioremediation strategies to face environmental pollution, as well as to improve biorefineries for the conversion of biomasses into various chemical compounds. This review gives an overview on the peculiar metabolic features of certain extremophilic microorganisms, with a main focus on thermophiles, which make them attractive for biotechnological applications in the field of environmental remediation; moreover, it sheds light on updated genetic systems (also those based on the CRISPR-Cas tool), which expand the potentialities of these microorganisms to be genetically manipulated for various biotechnological purposes.

Resistance, removal, and bioaccumulation of Ni (II) and Co (II) and their impacts on antioxidant enzymes of Anoxybacillus mongoliensis

In this study, it was hypothesis that A. mongoliensis could be used as bioindicator for Ni (II) and Co (II). Thus, Ni (II) and Co (II) resistance, removal, bioaccumulation, and the impacts of them on antioxidant enzyme systems of thermophilic Anoxybacillus mongoliensis were investigated in details. The bioaccumulation of Ni (II) and Co (II) on the cell membrane of thermophilic A. mongoliensis, variations on surface macrostructure and functionality by FT-IR and SEM, and determination of antioxidant enzyme activities were also tested. The highest bioaccumulation values of Co (II) and Ni (II) were detected as 102.0 mg metal/g of dry bacteria at 10 mg/L for the 12th h and 90.4 mg metal/g of dry bacteria for the 24th h, respectively, and the highest Ni (II) and Co (II) cell membrane bioaccumulation capacities of A. mongoliensis were determined as 268.5 and 274.9 mg metal/g wet membrane, respectively at the 24th h. In addition, increasing on SOD and CAT activities were observed on depend of concentration of Ni (II) and Co (II) with respect to control. The antioxidant enzyme activity results also indicated that A. mongoliensis might be used as a bioindicator for Ni (II) and Co (II) pollution in environmental water specimens.

Significance of manganese resistant bacillus cereus strain WSE01 as a bioinoculant for promotion of plant growth and manganese accumulation in Myriophyllum verticillatum

Endophytic bacteria are generally helpful for plant growth and protection. Strain WSE01, which was identified as bacillus cereus, was isolated from the stem of Myriophyllum verticillatum and it displayed a high tolerance to Mn (1500 mg/L). The strain was found to be able to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and siderophores, fix the atmospheric nitrogen and dissolve potassium from insoluble K-bearing minerals. In hydroponic culture experiments, the inoculation of strain WSE01 significantly promoted the growth and increased the leaf enzyme activity in the inoculated plant M. verticillatum. Furthermore, the manganese content was increased by 36.4% in stems and by 54.7% in leaves of the inoculated plant under Mn stress at 400 mg/L, compared to the non-inoculated group. This study suggests that the strain WSE01 has the potential to be used as biocontrol and/or biofertilizing agents for application in macrophyte M. verticillatum and conduces to achieving more effective phytoremediation of metal-contaminated waters.

A Novel Biosorbent for Preconcentrations of Co(II) and Hg(II) in Real Samples

A new biosorbent, composed of Amberlite XAD-4 loaded with Anoxybacillus kestanboliensis, was developed and surface morphologies were investigated by SEM and FT-IR. It was used for solid phase column preconcentrations of Co(II) and Hg(II) before their measurements by ICP-OES. LODs were calculated as 0.04 and 0.06 ng mL⁻¹ for Co(II) and Hg(II) respectively. The maximum biosorption capacities were determined as 24.3 and 27.8 mg g⁻¹ for Co(II) and Hg(II) respectively. Preconcentration factors were achieved for Co(II) and Hg(II) as 80. The method validation was performed by analyzing certified reference materials. The new process was successfully utilized for the preconcentration of these metals in various food samples. It should be highlighted that the sensitivity of ICP-OES was critically improved by applying developed method. Hence, ICP-OES could be an effective alternative for ICP-MS and/or GF-AAS.

Recent advances in conventional and contemporary methods for remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils

Remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils has been drawing our attention toward it for quite some time now and a need for developing new methods toward reclamation has come up as the need of the hour. Conventional methods of heavy metal-contaminated soil remediation have been in use for decades and have shown great results, but they have their own setbacks. The chemical and physical techniques when used singularly generally generate by-products (toxic sludge or pollutants) and are not cost-effective, while the biological process is very slow and time-consuming. Hence to overcome them, an amalgamation of two or more techniques is being used. In view of the facts, new methods of biosorption, nanoremediation as well as microbial fuel cell techniques have been developed, which utilize the metabolic activities of microorganisms for bioremediation purpose. These are cost-effective and efficient methods of remediation, which are now becoming an integral part of all environmental and bioresource technology. In this contribution, we have highlighted various augmentations in physical, chemical, and biological methods for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils, weighing up their pros and cons. Further, we have discussed the amalgamation of the above techniques such as physiochemical and physiobiological methods with recent literature for the removal of heavy metals from the contaminated soils. These combinations have showed synergetic effects with a many fold increase in removal efficiency of heavy metals along with economic feasibility.

Evaluation of Mn bioaccumulation and biosorption by bacteria isolated from spent nuclear fuel pools using 54Mn as a radioindicator

Bioaccumulation and biosorption characteristics of Mn2+ions by both dead and living, non-growing biomass of Gram-positive bacteriaKocuria palustrisandMicrococcus luteusisolated from spent nuclear fuel pools were compared. The radioindicator method using radionuclide54Mn was applied to obtain precise and reliable data characterizing both processes as well as manganese distribution in bacterial cells. Manganese was mainly found on the surface (biosorption) of live cells of both bacteria and surface sorption capacity increased with Mn concentration in solution. Only 10.0% (M. luteus) and 6.3% (K. palustris) of uptaken Mn were localized in the cytoplasm (bioaccumulation). Biosorption of Mn by dead bacterial biomass was a rapid process strongly affected by solution pH. Maximum sorption capacitiesQmaxcalculated from the Langmuir isotherm and characterizing Mn binding represented 316±15 μmol/g forM. luteusand 282±16 μmol/g forK. palustris.Results indicate that living, non-growing cells showed a higher efficiency of Mn removal than dead biomass. Based on FTIR spectra examination with aim to characterize the surface ofK. palustrisandM. luteuscells, we confirmed that the phosphate and carboxyl functional groups are involved in manganese sorption onto cell surface by both live and dead bacterial biomass.

Boletus edulis loaded with γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles as a magnetic sorbent for preconcentration of Co(II) and Sn(II) prior to their determination by ICP-OES

The authors show that the fungus Boletus edulis loaded with γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles is a viable sorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction of trace levels of Co(II) and Sn(II). The surface structure of immobilized magnetized B. edulis was characterized by FT-IR, SEM and EDX. Experimental parameters were optimized. Following elution with 1 M HCl, the ions were quantified by ICP-OES. The limits of detection are 21 pg·mL^-1 for Co(II), and 19 pg·mL^-1 for Sn(II). The preconcentration factors are 100 for both ions. The sorption capacities of the sorbent are 35.8 mg·g^-1 for Co(II) and 29.6 mg·g^-1 for Sn(II). The method was applied to the analysis of certificated reference materials and gave ≥95% recoveries with low RSDs. It was also successfully applied to the quantification of Co(II) and Sn(II) in spiked environmental and food samples. Graphical abstract The fungus Boletus edulis loaded with γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles is a viable biosorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) of trace levels of Co(II) and Sn(II). The surface structure of immobilized magnetized B. edulis was characterized by FT-IR, SEM and EDX. Experimental parameters were optimized.

Resistance, bioaccumulation and solid phase extraction of uranium (VI) by Bacillus vallismortis and its UV-vis spectrophotometric determination

Bioaccumulation, resistance and preconcentration of uranium(VI) by thermotolerant Bacillus vallismortis were investigated in details. The minimum inhibition concentration of (MIC) value of U(VI) was found as 85 mg/L and 15 mg/L in liquid and solid medium, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of various U(VI) concentrations on the growth of bacteria and bioaccumulation on B. vallismortis was examined in the liquid culture media. The growth was not significantly affected in the presence of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L U(VI) up to 72 h. The highest bioaccumulation value at 1 mg/L U(VI) concentration was detected at the 72nd hour (10 mg/g metal/dry bacteria), while the maximum bioaccumulation value at 5 mg/L U(VI) concentration was determined at the 48th hour (50 mg metal/dry bacteria). In addition to these, various concentration of U(VI) on α-amylase production was studied. The α-amylase activities at 0, 1, 2.5 and 5 mg/L U(VI) were found as 3313.2, 3845.2, 3687.1 and 3060.8 U/mg, respectively at 48th. Besides, uranium (VI) ions were preconcentrated with immobilized B. vallismortis onto multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and were determined by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The surface macro structure and functionalities of B. vallismortis immobilized onto multiwalled carbon nanotube with and without U(VI) were examined by FT-IR and SEM. The optimum pH and flow rate for the biosorption of U(VI) were 4.0-5.0 and 1.0 mL/min, respectively. The quantitative elution occurred with 5.0 mL of 1 mol/L HCl. The loading capacity of immobilized B. vallismortis was determined as 23.6 mg/g. The certified reference sample was employed for the validation of developed solid phase extraction method. The new validated method was applied to the determination of U(VI) in water samples from Van Lake-Turkey.

Tolerance and bioaccumulation of U(VI) by Bacillus mojavensis and its solid phase preconcentration by Bacillus mojavensis immobilized multiwalled carbon nanotube

In this study, uranium(VI) tolerance and bioaccumulation were investigated by using thermo -tolerant Bacillus mojavensis. The level of U(VI) was measured by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value of U(VI) was experimented. Bacterial growth was not affected in the presence of 1.0 and 2.5 mg/L U(VI) at 36 h and the growth was partially affected in the presence of 5 mg/L U(VI) at 24 h. What was obtained from this study is that there was diversity in the various periods of the growth phases of metal bioaccumulation capacity, which was shown by B. mojavensis. The maximum bioaccumulation capacities were found to be 12.8, 22.7, and 48.2 mg/g dried bacteria, at 24th hours at concentration of 1.0, 2.5 and 5 mg/L U(VI), respectively. In addition to these, U(VI) has been preconcentrated on B. mojavensis immobilized MWCNT. Several factors such as pH, flow rate of solution, amount of biosorbent and support materials, eluent type, concentration and volume, the matrix interference effect on retention have been studied, and extraction conditions were optimized. Preconcentration factor was achieved as 60. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were calculated as 0.74 and 2.47 μg/L. The biosorption capacity of immobilized B. mojavensis was calculated for U(VI) as 25.8 mg/g. The results demonstrated that the immobilized biosorbent column could be reused at least 30 cycles of biosorption and desorption with the higher than 95% recovery. FT-IR and SEM analysis were performed to understand the surface properties of B. mojavensis.

Metals-induced functional stress in sulphate-reducing thermophiles

All toxic metals have been known to inhibit different activities of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) at different concentrations. The present study delineates functional responses of two thermophilic SRB species (Desulfotomaculum reducens-HA1 and Desulfotomaculum hydrothermale-HA2) to toxic metals. Bacterial activity was assessed in terms of sulphate reduction and metal precipitation employing four concentrations (1, 5, 10 and 15 ppm) of three dissolved toxic metals (Cu, Cr and Ni) independently. Both sulphidogenic bacterial species showed results in a very narrow range of fluctuations. In general, bioprecipitation and sulphate reduction were pronounced at lower concentrations (1 and 5 ppm) and got inhibited at higher concentrations (10 and 15 ppm). The order of precipitation and sulphate reduction for the subject metals was Ni > Cr > Cu. The findings of this study will be helpful in developing economical and environmental friendly bioremediation process(es) tending to operate at extreme conditions around the concentrations in indicated suitable metals-loaded effluents.

Thermophilic Geobacillus galactosidasius sp. nov. loaded γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticle for the preconcentrations of Pb and Cd

Thermophilic bacteria, Geobacillus galactosidasius sp nov. was loaded on γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticle for the preconcentrations of Pb and Cd by solid phase extraction before ICP-OES. pH and flow rate of the solution, amounts of biosorbent and magnetic nanoparticle, volume of sample solution, effects of the possible interferic ions were investigated in details. Linear calibration curves were constructed in the concentration ranges of 1.0-60ngmL(-1) for Pb and Cd. The RSDs of the method were lower than 2.8% for Pb and 3.8% for Cd. Certified and standard reference samples of fortified water, wastewater, poplar leaves, and simulated fresh water were used to accurate the method. LOD values were found as 0.07 and 0.06ngmL(-1) respectively for Pb and Cd. The biosorption capacities were found as 34.3mgg(-1) for Pb and 37.1mgg(-1) for Cd. Pb and Cd concentrations in foods were determined. Surface microstructure was investigated by SEM-EDX.

Proteomic analysis of the copper resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive bacterial pathogen causing a variety of diseases, including otitis media, bacteraemia and meningitis. Although copper is an essential trace metal for bacterial growth, high intracellular levels of free-copper are toxic. Copper resistance has emerged as an important virulence determinant of microbial pathogens. In this study, we determined the minimum inhibition concentration of copper for the growth inhibition of S. pneumoniae. Two-dimensional-electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry was applied to identify proteins involved in copper resistance of S. pneumoniae. In total, forty-four proteins with more than 1.5-fold alteration in expression (p < 0.05) were identified. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR was used to confirm the proteomic results. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in the cell wall biosynthesis, protein biosynthesis, purine biosynthesis, pyrimidine biosynthesis, primary metabolic process, and the nitrogen compound metabolic process. Many up-regulated proteins in response to the copper treatment directly or indirectly participated in the cell wall biosynthesis, indicating that the cell wall is a critical determinant in copper resistance of S. pneumoniae.

A thiostrepton resistance gene and its mutants serve as selectable markers in Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426

Effective utilization of microbes often requires complex genetic modification using multiple antibiotic resistance markers. Because a few markers have been used in Geobacillus spp., the present study was designed to identify a new marker for these thermophiles. We explored antibiotic resistance genes functional in Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 and identified a thiostrepton resistance gene (tsr) effective at 50 °C. The tsr gene was further used to generate the mutant tsr(H258Y) functional at 55 °C. Higher functional temperature of the mutant was attributable to the increase in thermostability of the gene product because recombinant protein produced from tsr(H258Y) was more thermostable than that from tsr. In fact, the tsr(H258Y) gene served as a selectable marker for plasmid transformation of G. kaustophilus. This new marker could facilitate complex genetic modification of G. kaustophilus and potentially other Geobacillus spp.

High quality draft genome sequence of the heavy metal resistant bacterium Halomonas zincidurans type strain B6(T)

Halomonas zincidurans strain B6(T) was isolated from a deep-sea heavy metal rich sediment from the South Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge. The strain showed significant resistance to heavy metals, especially to zinc. Here we describe the genome sequence and annotation, as well as the features, of the organism. The genome contains 3,325 protein-coding genes (2,848 with predicted functions), 61 tRNA genes and 6 rRNA genes. H. zincidurans strain B6(T) encodes 31 genes related to heavy metal resistance. And HGT may play an important role in its adaption to the heavy metal rich environment. H. zincidurans strain B6(T) may have potential applications in the bioremediation of heavy metal-contaminated environments.

Polysaccharide-degrading thermophiles generated by heterologous gene expression in Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426

Thermophiles have important advantages over mesophiles as host organisms for high-temperature bioprocesses, functional production of thermostable enzymes, and efficient expression of enzymatic activities in vivo. To capitalize on these advantages of thermophiles, we describe here a new inducible gene expression system in the thermophile Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426. Six promoter regions in the HTA426 genome were identified and analyzed for expression profiles using β-galactosidase reporter assay. This analysis identified a promoter region upstream of a putative amylose-metabolizing gene cluster that directed high-level expression of the reporter gene. The expression was >280-fold that without a promoter and was further enhanced 12-fold by maltose addition. In association with a multicopy plasmid, this promoter region was used to express heterologous genes. Several genes, including a gene whose product was insoluble when expressed in Escherichia coli, were successfully expressed as soluble proteins, with yields of 0.16 to 59 mg/liter, and conferred new functions to G. kaustophilus strains. Remarkably, cellulase and α-amylase genes conferred the ability to degrade cellulose paper and insoluble starch at high temperatures, respectively, generating thermophiles with the potential to degrade plant biomass. Our results demonstrate that this novel expression system expands the potential applications of G. kaustophilus.

Comparative study on Ni(2+)-affinity transport of nickel/cobalt permeases (NiCoTs) and the potential of recombinant Escherichia coli for Ni(2+) bioaccumulation

Comparative evaluation on Ni(2+)-uptake of two nickel-affinity transmembrane proteins (NiCoTs) respectively from Helocobacter pylori (NixA) and Staphylococcus aureus (NisA) was performed. Expression of NiCoTs alone did not promote Ni(2+) uptake of the recombinant strains and made the growth susceptible to Ni(2+). However, recombinant strains expressing both NiCoTs and Metallothionein (MT) showed enhanced tolerance to Ni(2+) and Ni(2+) uptake. The maximum Ni(2+)-uptake capacity of recombinant strain N1c expressing NixA+MT reached 83.33mgg(-1), higher than 45.45mgg(-1) of recombinant strain N1d expressing NisA+MT. N1c exhibited more effective Ni(2+) accumulation than N1d in the presence of Na(+), Co(2+) and Cd(2+). NiCoTs promoted intracellular Ni(2+) uptake of the recombinant strains. Phosphate groups dominated Ni(2+) binding of wild type Escherichia coli, but carboxyl groups contributed more for N1c and N1d. The result suggested that NixA has a higher specificity in Ni(2+) binding than NisA, and both NiCoTs and MT are important for Ni(2+) bioaccumulation.