Self-immobilization of Recombinant Caulobacter crescentus and Its Application in Removal of Cadmium from Water

Biofilm-Mediated Heavy Metal Removal from Aqueous System by Multi-Metal-Resistant Bacterial Strain Bacillus sp. GH-s29

Worldwide ever-augmenting urbanization, modernization, and industrialization have contributed to the release of pernicious compounds and a variety of pollutants into the environment. The pollutants discharged due to industrialization are of global concern. Industrial waste and effluent are comprised of hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals including heavy metals which pose a significant threat to the environment and may bring about numerous diseases or abnormalities in human beings. This brings on greater urgency for remediation of these polluted soil and water using sustainable approaches and mechanisms. In the present research, a multi-metal-resistant, gram-positive, non-virulent bacterial strain Bacillus sp. GH-s29 was isolated from contaminated groundwater of Bhojpur district, Bihar, India. The strain had the potential to develop a biofilm that was able to remediate different heavy metals [arsenic, cadmium, and chromium] from individual and multi-heavy metal solutions. Maximum removal for As (V), Cd (II), and Cr (VI) from individual-metal and the multi-metal solution was observed to be 73.65%, 57.37%, 61.62%, and 48.92%, 28.7%, and 35.46%, respectively. SEM-EDX analysis revealed the sequestration of multi-heavy metals by bacterial biofilm. Further characterization by FTIR analysis ensured that the presence of negatively charged functional groups on the biofilm-EPS such as hydroxyl, phosphate, sulfate, and carboxyl helps in binding to the positively charged metal ions. Thus, Bacillus sp. GH-s29 proved to be an effective and economical alternative for different heavy metal remediation from contaminated sites.

Complete biodegradation of the oldest organic herbicide 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid by engineering Escherichia coli

After nearly 80 years of extensive application, the oldest organic herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) has caused many problems of environmental pollution and ecological deterioration. Bioremediation is an ideal method for pollutant treatment. However, difficult screening and preparation of efficient degradation bacteria have largely hindered its application in 2,4-D remediation. We have created a novel engineering Escherichia coli with a reconstructed complete degradation pathway of 2,4-D to solve the problem of screening highly efficient degradation bacteria in this study. The results of fluorescence quantitative PCR demonstrated that all nine genes in the degradation pathway were successfully expressed in the engineered strain. The engineered strains can quickly and completely degrade 0.5 mM 2, 4-D within 6 h. Inspiring, the engineered strains grew with 2,4-D as the sole carbon source. By using the isotope tracing method, the metabolites of 2,4-D were found incorporated into the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the engineering strain. Scanning electron microscopy showed that 2,4-D had less damage on the engineered bacteria than the wild-type strain. Engineered strain can also rapidly and completely remedy 2,4-D pollution in natural water and soil. Assembling the metabolic pathways of pollutants through synthetic biology was an effective method to create pollutant-degrading bacteria for bioremediation.

Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for efficient degradation of 4-fluorophenol

As a kind of refractory organic pollutant, 4-fluorophenol (4-FP) can be degraded by only a few microorganisms with low efficiency because of the great electron-withdrawing ability of fluorine atoms. So it is necessary to artificially construct engineered strain to improve the degradation efficiency and meet the requirements of pollutant degradation. In this study, four genes (fpdA2, fpdB, fpdC, and fpdD) for 4-FP degradation from Arthrobacter sp. strain IF1 were optimized and synthesized and then reconstructed into Escherichia coli by a multi-monocistronic vector to obtain recombinant BL-fpd that could degrade 4-FP efficiently. Under optimized induction conditions (inducing the strain by 2 g/L L-arabinose and 1 mM IPTG at 37 ℃), BL-fpd could completely degrade 2 mM 4-FP, 4-chlorophenol, 4-bromophenol, and 4-nitrophenol into β-ketoadipate, which could be further metabolized by the bacteria. FpdA2 showed the highest activity towards 4-bromophenol. The strain could completely degrade 1 mM 4-FP in industrial wastewater within 3 h. This study provided a promising strain for the degradation of 4-FP and some other 4-substituted phenols. The construction technologies of multi-monocistronic expression vector may also be used to construct other organic pollutants degrading bacteria.

In-Situ Remediation Approaches for the Management of Contaminated Sites: A Comprehensive Overview

Though several in-situ treatment methods exist to remediate polluted sites, selecting an appropriate site-specific remediation technology is challenging and is critical for successful clean up of polluted sites. Hence, a comprehensive overview of all the available remediation technologies to date is necessary to choose the right technology for an anticipated pollutant. This review has critically evaluated the (i) technological profile of existing in-situ remediation approaches for priority and emerging pollutants, (ii) recent innovative technologies for on-site pollutant remediation, and (iii) current challenges as well as future prospects for developing innovative approaches to enhance the efficacy of remediation at contaminated sites.

Analysis of the xynB5 gene encoding a multifunctional GH3-BglX β-glucosidase-β-xylosidase-α-arabinosidase member in Caulobacter crescentus

The Caulobacter crescentus (NA1000) xynB5 gene (CCNA_03149) encodes a predicted β-glucosidase-β-xylosidase enzyme that was amplified by polymerase chain reaction; the product was cloned into the blunt ends of the pJet1.2 plasmid. Analysis of the protein sequence indicated the presence of conserved glycosyl hydrolase 3 (GH3), β-glucosidase-related glycosidase (BglX) and fibronectin type III-like domains. After verifying its identity by DNA sequencing, the xynB5 gene was linked to an amino-terminal His-tag using the pTrcHisA vector. A recombinant protein (95 kDa) was successfully overexpressed from the xynB5 gene in E. coli Top 10 and purified using pre-packed nickel-Sepharose columns. The purified protein (BglX-V-Ara) demonstrated multifunctional activities in the presence of different substrates for β-glucosidase (pNPG: p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucoside) β-xylosidase (pNPX: p-nitrophenyl-β-D-xyloside) and α-arabinosidase (pNPA: p-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinosidase). BglX-V-Ara presented an optimal pH of 6 for all substrates and optimal temperature of 50 °C for β-glucosidase and α-L-arabinosidase and 60 °C for β-xylosidase. BglX-V-Ara predominantly presented β-glucosidase activity, with the highest affinity for its substrate and catalytic efficiency (Km 0.24 ± 0.0005 mM, Vmax 0.041 ± 0.002 µmol min(-1) mg(-1) and Kcat/Km 0.27 mM(-1) s(-1)), followed by β-xylosidase (Km 0.64 ± 0.032 mM, Vmax 0.055 ± 0.002 µmol min(-1) mg(-1) and Kcat/Km 0.14 mM(-1)s(-1)) and finally α-L-arabinosidase (Km 1.45 ± 0.05 mM, Vmax 0.091 ± 0.0004 µmol min(-1) mg(-1) and Kcat/Km 0.1 mM(-1) s(-1)). To date, this is the first report to demonstrate the characterization of a GH3-BglX family member in C. crescentus that may have applications in biotechnological processes (i.e., the simultaneous saccharification process) because the multifunctional enzyme could play an important role in bacterial hemicellulose degradation.

Biodegradation of a mixture of the herbicides ametryn, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in a compartmentalized biofilm reactor

In this work, an efficient degradation process for the removal of 2,4-D and ametryn, together with organic and inorganic adjuvants used in the commercial formulations of both herbicides, was developed. Although both compounds are toxic for microbial communities, ametryn is markedly more toxic than 2,4-D. In spite of this, the microbial consortium used could resist loading rates up to 31.5 mg L(-1) d(-1) of ametryn, with removal efficiencies up to 97% for both herbicides. Thus, an alternative use of this consortium could be bioaugmentation, as a tool to protect the structure and function of an activated-sludge biota against ametryn or 2,4-D shock loads. The process was carried out in a lab-scale prototype of aerobic biobarrier constructed as a compartmentalized fixed film reactor with airlift recirculation of oxygenated liquid.

Diversity of aromatic ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase gene in Citrobacter

Genetic and functional diversity of Citrobacter spp. for their abilities to degrade aromatic compounds was evaluated to develop mixed cultures or a consortium for bioremediation technology. Thirty Citrobacter strains isolated from various effluent treatment plants were found to degrade a range of aromatic compounds: phenol, benzoate, hydroxy benzoic acid and biotransform mono-chlorophenols and di-chlorophenol within 24 to 48 h of incubation at 30 °C. Sequence similarity and phylogeny of the ARHD gene transcripts (730 nucleotides) depicted their diversity within 9 Citrobacter strains: HPC255, HPC369, HPC560, HPC570, HPC784, HPC1196, HPC1216, HPC1276 and HPC1299. Here, the degree of associations varied up to 84% with (i) ARHD α-sub unit (SU), (ii) LSU of Phenylpropionate dioxygenase (PDO), (iii) Phenol hydroxylase α-SU, (iv) Benzoate 1,2-dioxygenase, α-SU, (v) Naphthalene dioxygenase LSU, etc. This study has provided basic information, which can be used to develop a consortium of bacteria with mutually beneficial characteristics.

Bioremediation of soluble heavy metals with recombinant Caulobacter crescentus

To achieve one-step separation of heavy metal ions from contaminated water, we have developed a novel bioremediation technology based on self-immobilization of the Caulobacter crescentus recombinant strain JS4022/p723-6H, which overexpresses hexahistidine peptide on the surface of the bacterial cells and serves as a whole-cell adsorbent for dissolved heavy metals. Biofilms formed by JS4022/p723-6H are effective at retaining cadmium from bacterial growth media or environmental water samples. Here we provide additional experiment data discussing the application potential of this new technology. Supplementation of calcium to the growth media produced robust JS4022/p723-6H cells by alleviating their sensitivity to chelators. After growth in the presence of 0.3% CaCl(2)·2H(2)O, double the amount of JS4022/p723-6H cells survived the treatment with 2 mM EDTA. Free cells of JS4022/p723-6H effectively sequestered 51% of the total cadmium from a Lake Erie water sample at pH 5.4, compared to 37% retrieved by the control strain. Similar levels of adsorption were observed at pH 4.2 as well. Cells of JS4022/p723-6H were tolerant of acid treatment for 90 min at pH ≥1.1 or 120 min at pH ≥2.5, which provides an avenue for the convenient regeneration of the bacterial cells metal-binding capacity with acidic solutions. Designs of possible bioreactors and an operation system are also presented.