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Humic analog AQDS and AQS as an electron mediator can enhance chromate reduction by Bacillus sp. strain 3C3

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Humus as an electron mediator is recognized as an effective strategy to improve the biological transformation and degradation of toxic substances, yet the action of humus in microbial detoxification of chromate is still unknown. In this study, a humus-reducing strain 3C3 was isolated from mangrove sediment. Based on the analyses of morphology, physiobiochemical characteristics, and 16S rRNA gene sequence, this strain was identified Bacillus sp. Strain 3C3 can effectively reduce humic analog anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) and anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQS) with lactate, formate, or glucose as electron donors. When the cells were killed by incubation at 95°C for 30 min or an electron donor was absent, the humic reduction did not occur, showing that the humic reduction was a biochemical process. However, strain 3C3 had low capability of chromate reduction under anaerobic conditions, despite of having strong tolerance of the toxic metal. But in the presence of humic substances AQDS or AQS, we found that chromate reduction by strain 3C3 was enhanced greatly. Because strain 3C3 is an effective humus-reducing bacterium, it is proposed that humic substances could serve as electron mediator to interact with chromate and accelerate chromate reduction. Our results suggest that chromate contaminations can be detoxified by adding humic analog (low to 0.1 mM) as an electron mediator in the microbial incubation.

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30800032, 40876074, 41176104), the Foundation of President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (07YQ091001), and the K.C. Wong Education Foundation, Hong Kong.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 Xingang Road West, Guangzhou, 510301, People’s Republic of China

    Yiguo Hong & Peng Wu

  2. Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China

    Peng Wu, Wenru Li, Jiguang Gu & Shunshan Duan

  3. Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong, 510070, People’s Republic of China

    Wenru Li

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  1. Yiguo Hong
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  2. Peng Wu
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  3. Wenru Li
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  4. Jiguang Gu
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  5. Shunshan Duan
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Correspondence to Yiguo Hong.

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Hong, Y., Wu, P., Li, W. et al. Humic analog AQDS and AQS as an electron mediator can enhance chromate reduction by Bacillus sp. strain 3C3 . Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 93, 2661–2668 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3577-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3577-8

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