Selenite stress elicits physiological adaptations in Bacillus sp. (strain JS-2)

A bacterial isolate (strain JS-2) characterized as Bacillus sp. was challenged with high concentrations of toxic selenite ions. The microbe was found to transform the toxic, soluble, colorless selenite (SeO(3)(2-)) oxyions to nontoxic, insoluble, red elemental selenium (Se(0)). This process of biotransformation was accompanied by cytoplasmic and surface accumulation of electron dense selenium (Se(0)) granules, as revealed in electron micrographs. The cells grown in the presence of selenite oxyions secreted large quantities of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). There were quantitative and qualitative differences in the cell wall fatty acids of the culture grown in the presence of selenite ions. The relative percentage of total saturated fatty acid and cyclic fatty acid increased significantly, whereas the amount of total unsaturated fatty acids decreased when the cells were exposed to selenite stress. All these physiological adaptive responses evidently indicate a potentially important role of cell wall fatty acids and extracellular polymeric substances in determining bacterial adaptation towards selenite-induced toxicity, which thereby explains the remarkable competitiveness and ability of this microbe to survive the environmental stress.