Microorganisms isolated from seabirds feathers for mercury bioremediation

Environmental pollution caused by mercury has received increasing attention in recent years. Several studies have warned of the high rates of biomagnification in superior levels of marine food networks affecting seabirds. Although seabird feathers are reported as bioindicators of mercury, the possibility of using the microbiota associated with them for the bioremediation of this metal has not been considered. Despite the potential of the seabird feather microbiota, the cultivable microorganisms from this sample matrix have not been identified. In this study, we isolated and identified the organisms in the feathers from three types of seabirds, two species of penguins (Pygoscelis antartica and Pygoscelis papua) and the brown skua bird (Catharacta lonnbergi) through poisoned media a final concentration of 10 mg / L Hg2+ in the culture medium for the microbial consortia. Yeast isolates belonged to the genus Debaryomyces, Meyerozyma, Papiliotrema, and Rhodotorula, and fungi genera Leiotrametes, Penicillium, Pseudogymnoascus, and Cladosporium were identified. Adult bird feathers with high mercury concentrations can serve as a matrix to isolate microorganisms capable of removing mercury. Keywords: Antarctica, bioremediation, feathers, mercury, microorganisms

Highly mercury-resistant strains from different Colombian Amazon ecosystems affected by artisanal gold mining activities

Two sites of the Colombian Amazon region with different levels of human intervention and mercury pollution were selected for the collection of samples of river and lake water, sediments, and associated forest soils. The Tarapacá region, affected mainly by barrage mining, showed low mercury concentrations, whilst in the Taraira region, affected by underground mining, there were several points with high mercury pollution levels. A collection of 72 bacterial and 10 yeast strains with different levels of mercury resistance was isolated and characterized. Most of the highly resistant bacterial strains (MIC > 40 mg L⁻¹ HgCl₂) were isolated from soil and sediment samples and belonged to either Pseudomonas (60%) or Bacillus (20%). Most of highly resistant bacterial strains were positive for the presence of the merA gene, suggesting an active mercury resistance mechanism. This was confirmed in the two most resistant strains, Pseudomonas sp. TP30 and Burkholderia contaminans TR100 (MIC = 64 and 71 mg L⁻¹ HgCl₂, respectively), which in the presence of increasing mercury concentrations expressed the merA gene at increasing levels, concomitant with a significant mercury reduction activity. Analysis of the MerA sequences present in the different isolates suggested a high gene conservation within the taxonomic groups but also several horizontal gene transfer events between taxonomically distant genera. We also observed a positive correspondence between the presence of the merA gene and the number of antibiotics to which the strains were resistant to. The most resistant strains are good candidates for future applications in the bioremediation of mercury-contaminated sites in the Amazon.

Key points

• Amazon sediments affected by underground gold mining have higher Hg levels.

• Highly Hg-resistant isolates belonged to Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera.

• TR100 and TP30 strains showed remediation potential to be used in the Amazon region.

Determination of the Intracellular Complexation of Inorganic and Methylmercury in Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Understanding of mercury (Hg) complexation with low molecular weight (LMW) bioligands will help elucidate its speciation. In natural waters, the rate of this complexation is governed by physicochemical, geochemical, and biochemical parameters. However, the role of bioligands involved in Hg intracellular handling by aquatic microorganisms is not well documented. Here, we combine the use of isotopically labeled Hg species (inorganic and monomethylmercury, iHg and MeHg) with gas or liquid chromatography coupling to elemental and molecular mass spectrometry to explore the role of intracellular biogenic ligands involved in iHg and MeHg speciation in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a representative phytoplankton species. This approach allowed to track resulting metabolic and newly found intracellular Hg biocomplexes (e.g., organic thiols) in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 finding different intracellular Hg species binding affinities with both high and low molecular weight (HMW and LMW) bioligands in the exponential and stationary phase. Furthermore, the parallel detection with both elemental and molecular ionization sources allowed the sensitive detection and molecular identification of glutathione (GSH) as the main low molecular weight binding ligand to iHg ((GS)₂-Hg) and MeHg (GS-MeHg) in the cytosolic fraction. Such a novel experimental approach expands our knowledge on the role of biogenic ligands involved in iHg and MeHg intracellular handling in cyanobacteria.

Role of Microorganisms in the Remediation of Wastewater in Floating Treatment Wetlands: A Review

This article provides useful information for understanding the specific role of microbes in the pollutant removal process in floating treatment wetlands (FTWs). The current literature is collected and organized to provide an insight into the specific role of microbes toward plants and pollutants. Several aspects are discussed, such as important components of FTWs, common bacterial species, rhizospheric and endophytes bacteria, and their specific role in the pollutant removal process. The roots of plants release oxygen and exudates, which act as a substrate for microbial growth. The bacteria attach themselves to the roots and form biofilms to get nutrients from the plants. Along the plants, the microbial community also influences the performance of FTWs. The bacterial community contributes to the removal of nitrogen, phosphorus, toxic metals, hydrocarbon, and organic compounds. Plant–microbe interaction breaks down complex compounds into simple nutrients, mobilizes metal ions, and increases the uptake of pollutants by plants. The inoculation of the roots of plants with acclimatized microbes may improve the phytoremediation potential of FTWs. The bacteria also encourage plant growth and the bioavailability of toxic pollutants and can alleviate metal toxicity.

Aerobic transformation of cadmium through metal sulfide biosynthesis in photosynthetic microorganisms

Background

Cadmium is a non-essential metal that is toxic because of its interference with essential metals such as iron, calcium and zinc causing numerous detrimental metabolic and cellular effects. The amount of this metal in the environment has increased dramatically since the advent of the industrial age as a result of mining activities, the use of fertilizers and sewage sludge in farming, and discharges from manufacturing activities. The metal bioremediation utility of phototrophic microbes has been demonstrated through their ability to detoxify Hg(II) into HgS under aerobic conditions. Metal sulfides are generally very insoluble and therefore, biologically unavailable.

Results

When Cd(II) was exposed to cells it was bioconverted into CdS by the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, and the cyanobacterium, Synechoccocus leopoliensis. Supplementation of the two eukaryotic algae with extra sulfate, but not sulfite or cysteine, increased their cadmium tolerances as well as their abilities to produce CdS, indicating an involvement of sulfate assimilation in the detoxification process. However, the combined activities of extracted serine acetyl-transferase (SAT) and O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) used to monitor sulfate assimilation, was not significantly elevated during cell treatments that favored sulfide biosynthesis. It is possible that the prolonged incubation of the experiments occurring over two days could have compensated for the low rates of sulfate assimilation. This was also the case for S. leopoliensis where sulfite and cysteine as well as sulfate supplementation enhanced CdS synthesis. In general, conditions that increased cadmium sulfide production also resulted in elevated cysteine desulfhydrase activities, strongly suggesting that cysteine is the direct source of sulfur for CdS synthesis.

Conclusions

Cadmium(II) tolerance and CdS formation were significantly enhanced by sulfate supplementation, thus indicating that algae and cyanobacteria can produce CdS in a manner similar to that of HgS. Significant increases in sulfate assimilation as measured by SAT-OASTL activity were not detected. However, the enhanced activity of cysteine desulfhydrase indicates that it is instrumental in the provision of H₂S for aerobic CdS biosynthesis.

Biotransformation of Hg(II) by cyanobacteria

The biotransformation of Hg(II) by cyanobacteria was investigated under aerobic and pH-controlled culture conditions. Mercury was supplied as HgCl(2) in amounts emulating those found under heavily impacted environmental conditions where bioremediation would be appropriate. The analytical procedures used to measure mercury within the culture solution, including that in the cyanobacterial cells, used reduction under both acid and alkaline conditions in the presence of SnCl(2). Acid reduction detected free Hg(II) ions and its complexes, whereas alkaline reduction revealed that meta-cinnabar (beta-HgS) constituted the major biotransformed and cellularly associated mercury pool. This was true for all investigated species of cyanobacteria: Limnothrix planctonica (Lemm.), Synechococcus leopoldiensis (Racib.) Komarek, and Phormidium limnetica (Lemm.). From the outset of mercury exposure, there was rapid synthesis of beta-HgS and Hg(0); however, the production rate for the latter decreased quickly. Inhibitory studies using dimethylfumarate and iodoacetamide to modify intra- and extracellular thiols, respectively, revealed that the former thiol pool was required for the conversion of Hg(II) into beta-HgS. In addition, increasing the temperature enhanced the amount of beta-HgS produced, with a concomitant decrease in Hg(0) volatilization. These findings suggest that in the environment, cyanobacteria at the air-water interface could act to convert substantial amounts of Hg(II) into beta-HgS. Furthermore, the efficiency of conversion into beta-HgS by cyanobacteria may lead to the development of applications in the bioremediation of mercury.

Biotransformation of mercury in pH-stat cultures of eukaryotic freshwater algae

Eukaryotic algae were studied to determine their ability to biotransform Hg(II) under aerated and pH controlled conditions. All algae converted Hg(II) into beta-HgS and Hg(0) to varying degrees. When Hg(II) was administered as HgCl(2) to the algae, biotransformation by species of Chlorophyceae (Selenastrum minutum and Chlorella fusca var. fusca) was initiated with beta-HgS synthesis (K (1/2) of hours) and concomitant Hg degrees evolution occurred in the first hour. Hg degrees synthesis was impeded by the formation of beta-HgS and this inhibition was released in C. fusca var. fusca when cellular thiols were oxidized by the addition of dimethylfumarate (DMF). The diatom, Navicula pelliculosa (Bacillariophyceae), converted a substantially greater proportion of the applied Hg(II) into Hg(0), whereas the thermophilic alga, Galdieria sulphuraria (Cyanidiophyceae), rapidly biotransformed as much as 90% of applied Hg(II) into beta-HgS (K (1/2) approximately 20 min). This thermophile was also able to generate Hg(0) even after all exogenously applied HgCl(2) had been biotransformed. The results suggest that beta-HgS may be the major dietary mercurial for grazers of contaminated eukaryotic algae.