Immobilization of Cr(VI) and Its Reduction to Cr(III) Phosphate by Granular Biofilms Comprising a Mixture of Microbes

We assessed the potential of mixed microbial consortia, in the form of granular biofilms, to reduce chromate and remove it from synthetic minimal medium. In batch experiments, acetate-fed granular biofilms incubated aerobically reduced 0.2 mM Cr(VI) from a minimal medium at 0.15 mM day⁻¹ g⁻¹, with reduction of 0.17 mM day⁻¹ g⁻¹ under anaerobic conditions. There was negligible removal of Cr(VI) (i) without granular biofilms, (ii) with lyophilized granular biofilms, and (iii) with granules in the absence of an electron donor. Analyses by X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) of the granular biofilms revealed the conversion of soluble Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) analysis of the Cr-laden granular biofilms demonstrated similarity to Cr(III) phosphate, indicating that Cr(III) was immobilized with phosphate on the biomass subsequent to microbial reduction. The sustained reduction of Cr(VI) by granular biofilms was confirmed in fed-batch experiments. Our study demonstrates the promise of granular-biofilm-based systems in treating Cr(VI)-containing effluents and wastewater.Chromium is a common industrial chemical used in tanning leather, plating chrome, and manufacturing steel. The two stable environmental forms are hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] (20). The former is highly soluble and toxic to microorganisms, plants, and animals, entailing mutagenic and carcinogenic effects (6, 22, 33), while the latter is considered to be less soluble and less toxic. Therefore, the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) constitutes a potential detoxification process that might be achieved chemically or biologically. Microbial reduction of Cr(VI) seemingly is ubiquitous; Cr(VI)-reducing bacteria have been isolated from both Cr(VI)-contaminated and -uncontaminated environments (6, 7, 23, 38, 39). Many archaeal/eubacterial genera, common to different environments, reduce a wide range of metals, including Cr(VI) (6, 16, 21). Some bacterial enzymes generate Cr(V) by mediating one-electron transfer to Cr(VI) (1, 4), while many other chromate reductases convert Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in a single step.Biological treatment of Cr(VI)-contaminated wastewater may be difficult because the metal''s toxicity potentially can kill the bacteria. Accordingly, to protect the cells, cell immobilization techniques were employed (31). Cells in a biofilm exhibit enhanced resistance and tolerance to toxic metals compared with free-living ones (15). Therefore, biofilm-based reduction of Cr(VI) and its subsequent immobilization might be a satisfactory method of bioremediation because (i) the biofilm-bound cells can tolerate higher concentrations of Cr(VI) than planktonic cells, and (ii) they allow easy separation of the treated liquid from the biomass. Ferris et al. (11) described microbial biofilms as natural metal-immobilizing matrices in aqueous environments. Bioflocs, the active biomass of activated sludge-process systems are transformed into dense granular biofilms in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). As granular biofilms settle extremely well, the treated effluent is separated quickly from the granular biomass by sedimentation (9, 24). Previous work demonstrated that aerobic granular biofilms possess tremendous ability for biosorption, removing zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, and uranium (19, 26, 31, 32, 40). However, no study has investigated the role of cellular metabolism of aerobically grown granular biofilms in metal removal experiments. Despite vast knowledge about biotransformation by pure cultures, very little is known about reduction and immobilization by mixed bacterial consortia (8, 12, 13, 16, 20, 31, 36). Our research explored, for the first time, the metabolically driven removal of Cr(VI) by microbial granules.The main aim of this study was to investigate Cr(VI) reduction and immobilization by mixed bacterial consortia, viz., aerobically grown granular biofilms. Such biofilm-based systems are promising for developing compact bioreactors for the rapid biodegradation of environmental contaminants (17, 24, 29). Accordingly, we investigated the microbial reduction of Cr(VI) by aerobically grown biofilms in batch and fed-batch experiments and analyzed the oxidation state and association of the chromium immobilized on the biofilms by X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS).     

Herbaceous plant diversity in forest ecosystems: patterns,mechanisms, and threats

Plant Ecology - Studies conducted in forests have resulted in much of the ecological theory we build upon today. However, our basic understanding of forest ecology comes almost exclusively from the...     

Fouling and corrosion in an open recirculating cooling system

The paper discusses the problem of fouling and corrosion in the Service Water System of a nuclear reactor employing an open recirculating cooling system. Field and laboratory experiments were carried out using carbon steel as test material. The studies included corrosion rate measurements, corrosion product characterisation (using XRD, EDAX and IRAS), and the effects of addition of biocide (chlorine) and corrosion inhibitor (polyphosphates) on the bacterial population of the cooling water. The fouling films which developed on metal and glass coupons as well as debris collected from within the cooling system were chemically characterised. The results indicated the prevalence of microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) within the system. The findings are discussed in the light of the information available on MIC of cooling water systems.     

Role of Coccophagus sp. in the suppression of the soft green scale Coccus viridis (Green) (Hompoptera: Coccidae) on sapota

The soft green scale Coccus viridis (Green) (Homoptera: Coccidae) has become a major pest of sapota, Manilkara achras (Mill.) Forberg in India. A field study was conducted on the population dynamics of soft green scale Coccus viridis (Green) for 2 years (2004–2006) on sapota at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) farm, Bangalore, India. The population of green scale declined from 30.72 per leaf in May 2004 to 1.62 per leaf in March 2006. Two coccinellid predators Chilocorus nigrita (Fab.) and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Muls.) and one aphelinid parasitoid Coccophagus sp. were recorded on C. viridis. Both the predators played a minor role in the population fluctuation of C. viridis. The parasitoid Coccophagus sp. was the dominant natural enemy observed throughout the study recording a mean of 10.24–94.67% parasitism. A significant positive correlation of the scale population with minimum temperature (r=0.54) and negative relationship with the parasitism by Coccophagus sp. (r=0.81) was recorded. Multiple regression analysis revealed that 75.7% of the variation present in the green scale population could be predicted by abiotic factors and parasitism by Coccophagus sp. Further, step-wise regression procedure employed to arrive at a multiple regression model showed that about 65.60% of the scale population could be predicted by one factor namely, parasitism by Coccophagus sp. These results showed that parasitism by Coccophagus sp. played a major role in regulating the population of the soft green scale infesting sapota.     

Effects of thermal discharge from a nuclear power plant on culturable bacteria at a tropical coastal location in India

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Field studies were carried out 1 year to understand the distribution of culturable bacteria in the coastal waters in relation to the thermal discharge.     

APOBEC Mutagenesis and Copy-Number Alterations Are Drivers of Proteogenomic Tumor Evolution and Heterogeneity in Metastatic Thoracic Tumors

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Somatic embryogenesis and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis>-mediated transformation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bixa orellana</Emphasis> L.

Establishment, maintenance, regeneration, and transformation of somatic embryos by both direct and indirect means (callus-mediated) was achieved for Bixa orellana, a tropical plant whose seeds produce commercially edible ‘annatto pigment,’ which mainly constitutes an apocarotenoid called bixin. Callus-mediated methodology was found to be efficient in producing a greater number of embryos in a short time. The maximum of 28 somatic embryos were produced in 16–18 weeks when immature zygotic embryonic stalks were inoculated onto Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing B5 vitamins supplemented with 0.44 μM benzyladenine (BA), 0.054 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2.89 μM gibberellic acid (GA₃), 0.02 μM triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), and 0.011 μM triacontanol (TRIA). Callus initiation from hypocotyl explants was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1.07–2.14 μM NAA and 10.2 μM BA. In 3 months, somatic embryos were produced when callus was inoculated onto MS medium supplemented with 4.44 μM BA, 40 μM AgNO₃, and 0.011 μM TRIA. Somatic embryos were efficiently regenerated on MS basal solid and liquid media supplemented with 0.44–4.4 μM BA, 0.54–2.69 μM NAA, 4.92 μM 2iP, 2.1 μM calcium d-pantothenate, 0.21 μM biotin, 227.7 μM cysteine HCl monohydrate, and 108.6 μM adenine sulfate. Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV 3101 harboring pCAMBIA 1305.2 binary vector-mediated stable transformation of somatic embryos exhibited a transformation frequency of 2.56%. As somatic embryogenesis in any perennial system is useful in terms of both commercial and scientific nature, this somatic embryo-based transformation protocol for the commercially important dye-yielding tropical plant B. orellana is useful for its improvement through genetic engineering.     

Luminous microflora associated with the fishes Mugil cephalus and Tachysurus arius

Abstract Luminous bacteria harboured in the skin, gill and gut of the fishes Mugil cephalus and Tachysurus arius were studies. Within the gut, the distribution of bacteria was studied regionwise, i.e., foregut, midgut and hindgut. In M. cephalus , maximum luminous bacterial population density was observed in the hindgut and minimum was found in the foregut. In T. arius , maximum luminous bacterial population density was recorded in the hindgut and minimum was found in the midgut. Luminous microflora associated with the host showed seasonal variation. Bacterial load of the surrounding medium and type of food governed the distribution of luminous microbiota in fish. Vibrio harveyi and V. fischeri were the two species identified, the former accounting for the majority of the isolates.