Azo dye decolorization by halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms

Microbial alchemists: unveiling the hidden potentials of halophilic organisms for soil restoration

Salinity, resulting from various contaminants, is a major concern to global crop cultivation. Soil salinity results in increased osmotic stress, oxidative stress, specific ion toxicity, nutrient deficiency in plants, groundwater contamination, and negative impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Leaching, the prevailing remediation method, is expensive, energy-intensive, demands more fresh water, and also causes nutrient loss which leads to infertile cropland and eutrophication of water bodies. Moreover, in soils co-contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and textile dyes, leaching techniques may not be effective. It promotes the adoption of microbial remediation as an effective and eco-friendly method. Common microbes such as Pseudomonas, Trichoderma, and Bacillus often struggle to survive in high-saline conditions due to osmotic stress, ion imbalance, and protein denaturation. Halophiles, capable of withstanding high-saline conditions, exhibit a remarkable ability to utilize a broad spectrum of organic pollutants as carbon sources and restore the polluted environment. Furthermore, halophiles can enhance plant growth under stress conditions and produce vital bio-enzymes. Halophilic microorganisms can contribute to increasing soil microbial diversity, pollutant degradation, stabilizing soil structure, participating in nutrient dynamics, bio-geochemical cycles, enhancing soil fertility, and crop growth. This review provides an in-depth analysis of pollutant degradation, salt-tolerating mechanisms, and plant-soil-microbe interaction and offers a holistic perspective on their potential for soil restoration.

Investigating Bio-Inspired Degradation of Toxic Dyes Using Potential Multi-Enzyme Producing Extremophiles

Biological treatment methods overcome many of the drawbacks of physicochemical strategies and play a significant role in removing dye contamination for environmental sustainability. Numerous microorganisms have been investigated as promising dye-degrading candidates because of their high metabolic potential. However, few can be applied on a large scale because of the extremely harsh conditions in effluents polluted with multiple dyes, such as alkaline pH, high salinity/heavy metals/dye concentration, high temperature, and oxidative stress. Therefore, extremophilic microorganisms offer enormous opportunities for practical biodegradation processes as they are naturally adapted to multi-stress conditions due to the special structure of their cell wall, capsule, S-layer proteins, extracellular polymer substances (EPS), and siderophores structural and functional properties such as poly-enzymes produced. This review provides scientific information for a broader understanding of general dyes, their toxicity, and their harmful effects. The advantages and disadvantages of physicochemical methods are also highlighted and compared to those of microbial strategies. New techniques and methodologies used in recent studies are briefly summarized and discussed. In particular, this study addresses the key adaptation mechanisms, whole-cell, enzymatic degradation, and non-enzymatic pathways in aerobic, anaerobic, and combination conditions of extremophiles in dye degradation and decolorization. Furthermore, they have special metabolic pathways and protein frameworks that contribute significantly to the complete mineralization and decolorization of the dye when all functions are turned on. The high potential efficiency of microbial degradation by unculturable and multi-enzyme-producing extremophiles remains a question that needs to be answered in practical research.

Removal of triphenylmethane dyes by Streptomyces bacillaris: A study on decolorization, enzymatic reactions and toxicity of treated dye solutions

This study revealed Streptomyces bacillaris as an efficient biological agent for the removal of triphenylmethane (TPM) dyes. The isolate decolorized Malachite Green (MG), Methyl Violet (MV), Crystal Violet (CV), and Cotton Blue (CB) effectively. S. bacillaris in the treated dye solutions were analyzed for enzyme production, and the cell biomass was observed for functional groups and cell morphology. The treated dye solutions were also analyzed for degraded compounds and their toxicity. Results revealed high decolorization activities for MG (94.7%), MV (91.8%), CV (86.6%), CB (68.4%), attributed to both biosorption and biodegradation. In biosorption, dye molecules interacted with the hydroxyl, amino, phosphoryl, and sulfonyl groups present on the cell surface. Biodegradation was associated with induced activities of MnP and NADH-DCIP reductase, giving rise to various simpler compounds. The degraded compounds in the treated dyes were less toxic, as revealed by the significant growth of Vigna radiata in the phytotoxicity test. There were no significant changes in cell morphology before and after use in dye solutions, suggesting S. bacillaris is less susceptible to dye toxicity. This study concluded that S. bacillaris demonstrated effective removal of TPM dyes via biosorption and biodegradation, rendering the treated dyes less toxic than untreated dyes. Findings in this study enabled further explorations into the potential application of lesser-known actinobacteria (i.e. Streptomyces sp.) for dye removal.

Endophytic fungal communities and their biotechnological implications for agro-environmental sustainability

Endophytic fungal communities have attracted a great attention to chemists, ecologists, and microbiologists as a treasure trove of biological resource. Endophytic fungi play incredible roles in the ecosystem including abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, eco-adaptation, enhancing growth and development, and maintaining the health of their host. In recent times, endophytic fungi have drawn a special focus owing to their indispensable diversity, unique distribution, and unparalleled metabolic pathways. The endophytic fungal communities belong to three phyla, namely Mucoromycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota with seven predominant classes Agaricomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Mortierellomycotina, Mucoromycotina, Saccharomycetes, and Sordariomycetes. In a review of a huge number of research finding, it was found that endophytic fungal communities of genera Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Fusarium, Gaeumannomyces, Metarhizium, Microsphaeropsis, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Piriformospora, Talaromyces, Trichoderma, Verticillium, and Xylaria have been sorted out and well characterized for diverse biotechnological applications for future development. Furthermore, these communities are remarkable source of novel bioactive compounds with amazing biological activity for use in agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical industry. Endophytes are endowed with a broad range of structurally unique bioactive natural products, including alkaloids, benzopyranones, chinones, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and quinines. Subsequently, there is still an excellent opportunity to explore novel compounds from endophytic fungi among numerous plants inhabiting different niches. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing could be a tool to study interaction between plants and endophytic fungi which may provide further opportunities to reveal unknown functions of endophytic fungal communities. The present review deals with the biodiversity of endophytic fungal communities and their biotechnological implications for agro-environmental sustainability.

Beneficial microbiomes for bioremediation of diverse contaminated environments for environmental sustainability: present status and future challenges

Over the past few decades, the rapid development of agriculture and industries has resulted in contamination of the environment by diverse pollutants, including heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, plastics, and various agrochemicals. Their presence in the environment is of great concern due to their toxicity and non-biodegradable nature. Their interaction with each other and coexistence in the environment greatly influence and threaten the ecological environment and human health. Furthermore, the presence of these pollutants affects the soil quality and fertility. Physicochemical techniques are used to remediate such environments, but they are less effective and demand high costs of operation. Bioremediation is an efficient, widespread, cost-effective, and eco-friendly cleanup tool. The use of microorganisms has received significant attention as an efficient biotechnological strategy to decontaminate the environment. Bioremediation through microorganisms appears to be an economically viable and efficient approach because it poses the lowest risk to the environment. This technique utilizes the metabolic potential of microorganisms to clean up contaminated environments. Many microbial genera have been known to be involved in bioremediation, including Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Aspergillus, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Mucor, Penicillium, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Talaromyces, and Trichoderma. Archaea, including Natrialba and Haloferax, from extreme environments have also been reported as potent bioresources for biological remediation. Thus, utilizing microbes for managing environmental pollution is promising technology, and, in fact, the microbes provide a useful podium that can be used for an enhanced bioremediation model of diverse environmental pollutants.

Bio-Decolorization of Synthetic Dyes by a Halophilic Bacterium Salinivibrio sp

Synthetic dyes, extensively used in various industries, act as pollutants in the aquatic environment, and pose a significant threat to living beings. In the present study, we assessed the potential of a halophilic bacterium Salinivibrio kushneri HTSP isolated from a saltpan for decolorization and bioremediation of synthetic dyes. The genomic assessment of this strain revealed the presence of genes encoding the enzymes involved in decolorization mechanisms including FMN-dependent NADH azoreductase Clade III, which cleave the azo bond of the dye, and the enzymes involved in deamination and isomerization of intermediate compounds. The dye decolorization assay was performed using this bacterial strain on three water-soluble dyes in different concentrations: Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) G-250 (500–3,000 mg/L), Safranin, and Congo red (50–800 mg/L). Within 48 h, more than 80% of decolorization was observed in all tested concentrations of CBB G-250 and Congo red dyes. The rate of decolorization was the highest for Congo red followed by CBB G-250 and then Safranin. Using UV-Visible spectrometer and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis, peaks were observed in the colored and decolorized solutions. The results indicated a breakdown of dyes upon decolorization, as some peaks were shifted and lost for different vibrations of aromatic rings, aliphatic groups (–CH₂, –CH₃) and functional groups (–NH, –SO₃H, and –SO₃⁻) in decolorized solutions. This study has shown the potential of S. kushneri HTSP to decolorize dyes in higher concentrations at a faster pace than previously reported bacterial strains. Thus, we propose that our isolated strain can be utilized as a potential dye decolorizer and biodegradative for wastewater treatment.

Effect of salinity on removal performance in hydrolysis acidification reactors treating textile wastewater

Hydrolysis acidification (HA) is a classical method for synthetic textile wastewater treatment. However, the salinity effect on the functional mechanism of the microorganisms carrying out HA has rarely been researched. In the present study, the salinity effect on the dye removal efficiency was investigated, and the soluble microbial products (SMP), extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and microbial community were analyzed at different salinities. The dye and COD removal rates in the HA reactor decreased with increasing salinity. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulated. The remarkable increases in SMP and EPS were found at high salinity, mainly because more polysaccharides were synthesized than protein. In addition, sequencing analysis showed that high salinity altered the microbial community structure, and Lactococcus, Raoultella and Enterococcus were the decolorizing bacteria at high salinity. This work will improve the understanding of the influence of salinity on the removal efficiency and microbial community during HA.

Decolorization of Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Red 152 Azo Dyes by New Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria Isolated from the Textile Wastewater

Textile wastewaters are usually alkali and saline, so using haloalkaliphilic bacteria can be the best option for the treatment of wastewater. This study aimed at the decolorization of textile Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Red 152 dyes using new haloalkaliphilic bacteria isolated from the textile wastewater. Among 50 strains of bacteria isolated from the effluent of Kashan textile industry, three bacterial strains, namely D1, D2 and E49, exhibited high decolorization abilities for Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Red 152 dyes. Decolorization was evaluated through spectrophotometry at maximum absorbance wavelengths of 607 and 554 nm for Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Red 152, respectively. The highest decolorization percentage was observed at a dye concentration of 50 mg L^-1. Aerobic conditions, 5% of the yeast extract and salt, 10% of peptone and glucose as nitrogen and carbon sources, respectively, and a pH range of 9-12 were considered as the optimal conditions for decolorization. The consortium of three haloalkaliphilic isolates showed a remarkable ability for decolorization of the Reactive Black 5 (87%) and Reactive Red 152 (85%) dyes. The consortium exhibited higher decolorization ability for the textile effluent, compared to individual bacterial inoculations. According to phenotypic characterization experiments and phylogenetic analyses based on comparing 16S rDNA sequence, the mentioned strains belonged to the genus Halomonas.

Exploring the potential of halophilic archaea for the decolorization of azo dyes

Azo dyes are being extensively used in textile industries, so finding a proper solution to decolorize them is of high importance. In order to find azo dye decolorizing strains among haloarchaea, which are well known for their tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, fifteen haloarchaeal strains were screened. Halogeometricum sp. strain A and Haloferax sp. strain B with the highest decolorization ability (95% and 91% for Remazol black B; both about 60% for Acid blue 161, respectively) were selected for further studies. It was shown that both strains were able to grow and decolorize the dye in a medium containing up to 5 M NaCl, with optimum decolorization activity at 2.5-3.4 M, pH 7, and a wide temperature range between 30 to 45 °C. Moreover, both strains were able to tolerate and decolorize up to 1,000 mg l^-1 Remazol black B. Also, they were able to survive in 5,000 mg l^-1 of the dye after 20 days' incubation. Glucose and yeast extract were found to be the best carbon and nitrogen sources in the decolorization medium for both strains. This is the first report studying decolorization of azo dyes using halophilic archaea.

Ecotoxic potential of a presumably non-toxic azo dye

Microbes have potential to convert non-toxic azo dyes into hazardous products in the environment. However, the role of microbes in biotransforming such presumably non-toxic dyes has not been given proper attention, thereby, questions the environmental safety of such compounds. The present study assessed salinity driven microbial degradation of an unregulated azo dye, Acid orange 7 (AO7), under moderately halophilic conditions of textile effluent. The halophilic microbial consortium from effluent decolorized ~97% AO7 (50-500mgL^-1). The consortium efficiently decolorized the dye at different pH (5-8) and salinity (5-18% NaCl). The 16S rRNA sequence analyses confirmed the presence of Halomonas and Escherichia in the consortium. The FTIR and GC-MS analyses suggested microbial consortium degrade AO7 following symmetric and asymmetric cleavage and yield carcinogenic/mutagenic aromatic byproducts viz. aniline, 1-amino-2-naphthol, naphthalene, and phenyldiazene. In contrast to AO7, the biodegraded products caused molecular, cellular and organism level toxicity. The degraded products significantly reduced: radicle length in root elongation assay; shoot length/biomass in plant growth assays; and caused chromosomal abnormalities and reduced mitotic index in Allium cepa bioassay. We demonstrated that under saline conditions of textile effluent, halophilic microbes convert a presumably non-toxic azo dye into hazardous products. The study calls to review the current toxicity classification of azo dyes and develop environmentally sound regulatory policies by incorporating the role of environmental factors in governing dye toxicity, for environmental safety.

Influence of redox mediators and salinity level on the (bio)transformation of Direct Blue 71: kinetics aspects

The rate-limiting step of azo dye decolorization was elucidated by exploring the microbial reduction of a model quinone and the chemical decolorization by previously reduced quinone at different salinity conditions (2-8%). Microbial experiments were performed in batch with a marine consortium. The decolorization of Direct Blue 71 (DB71) by the marine consortium at 2% salinity, mediated with anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), showed the highest rate of decolorization as compared with those obtained with riboflavin, and two samples of humic acids. Moreover, the incubations at different salinity conditions (0-8%) performed with AQDS showed that the highest rate of decolorization of DB71 by the marine consortium occurred at 2% and 4% salinity. In addition, the highest microbial reduction rate of AQDS occurred in incubations at 0%, 2%, and 4% of salinity. The chemical reduction of DB71 by reduced AQDS occurred in two stages and proceeded faster at 4% and 6% salinity. The results indicate that the rate-limiting step during azo decolorization was the microbial reduction of AQDS.

Azo dye decolorization by a halotolerant exoelectrogenic decolorizer isolated from marine sediment

Based on both capabilities of extracellular electron transfer and high salt tolerance, marine exoelectrogenic bacteria have the potential to serve as halotolerant/halophilic exoelectrogenic decolorizers (HEDs) for textile wastewater treatment. However, research in this area is still rare. In this study, we employed Shewanella marisflavi EP1 for this purpose. The results showed that EP1 could decolorize Xylidine Ponceau 2R (XP2R) under high NaCl concentrations up to 20%. Two different mechanisms were involved: degradation and bioflocculation. XP2R was decolorized by degradation in the range of 0-7.4% NaCl, by bioaugmented flocculation in 10-20% NaCl; and the range of 7.4-10% NaCl was the transition period from degradation to flocculation. Considering the property of flocculation by strain EP1, it is reasonable that XP2R was hard to penetrate into EP1 cells, thus it was an extracellular process of decolorization. The overall results further suggested that like EP1, marine exoelectrogenic bacteria might serve as a category of functional microbes (i.e., HEDs) for textile wastewater treatment.

Effects of redox mediators on azo dye decolorization by Shewanella algae under saline conditions

Azo dye decolorization by Shewanella algae (SAL) in the presence of high concentrations of NaCl and different quinones or humic acids was investigated to reveal the effects of redox mediator under saline conditions. Growth of SAL and the other two marine Shewanella strains coupled to anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) reduction was observed in a wide range of NaCl concentrations (0-7%). AQDS showed the best enhancing effects, whereas some other quinones demonstrated poorer stimulating or even inhibiting effects on acid red 27 (AR27) decolorization. Different humic acids could also enhance the decolorization. The correlation between specific AQDS-mediated reduction rate and initial AR27 concentration could be described with Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Km=0.2 mM and Vmax=9.3 μmol mg cell(-1) h(-1)). AQDS reduction by SAL was determined to be the rate-limiting step of mediated reduction. Mediated decolorization products of AR27 were determined to be less phytotoxic aromatic amines.

Discoloration of indigo carmine using aqueous extracts from vegetables and vegetable residues as enzyme sources

Several vegetables and vegetable residues were used as sources of enzymes capable to discolor indigo carmine (IC), completely or partially. Complete discoloration was achieved with aqueous extracts of green pea seeds and peels of green pea, cucumber, and kohlrabi, as well as spring onion leaves. The source of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), pH, time, and aeration is fundamental for the discoloration process catalyzed by PPO. The PPO present in the aqueous extract of green pea seeds was able to degrade 3,000 ppm of IC at a pH of 7.6 and magnetic stirring at 1,800 rpm in about 36 h. In addition, at 1,800 rpm and a pH of 7.6, this extract discolored 300 ppm of IC in 1:40 h; in the presence of 10% NaCl, the discoloration was complete in 5:50 h, whereas it was completed in 4:30 h with 5% NaCl and 2% laundry soap.

Azo dye decolorization by Shewanella aquimarina under saline conditions

Decolorization of azo dyes under saline conditions was studied with Shewanella aquimarina, which demonstrated good growth at up to 7% NaCl. No inhibition on acid red 27 (AR27) decolorization was caused by 1-3% NaCl. Additionally, 14.5% AR27 (0.2mM) could still be removed in 12h in the presence of 10% NaCl. The relationship between specific decolorization rate and AR27 concentration followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (K(m)=0.34 mM, V(max)=6.44 μmol mg cell(-1) h(-1)). Lactate and formate were efficient electron donors for AR27 decolorization. The initial decolorization rate was in direct proportion to biomass concentration (0.18-0.72 g l(-1)). Compared to NaCl, slighter inhibitive effects were found with Na(2)SO(4) whereas more severe inhibition was caused by NaNO(3). Lower NaCl concentration stimulated azoreductase, laccase and NADH-DCIP reductase activities of cell extracts. AR27 decolorization products were found to be aromatic amines, which were less phytotoxic than the untreated dye.