| Title |
Arsenite Oxidation by a Facultative Chemolithotrophic Bacterium SDB1 Isolated from Mine Tailing |
| Author |
Rovimar T. Lugtu1, Sung-Chan Choi2, and Young-Sook Oh1* |
| Address |
1Department of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, Myongji University, Yongin 449-728, Republic of Korea, 2Department of Environmental Sciences and Biotechnology, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-702, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 47(6),686-692, 2009,
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| DOI |
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| Key Words |
arsenite oxidation, Sinorhizobium-Ensifer, chemolithotroph, mine tailing |
| Abstract |
An arsenite (As[III])-oxidizing bacterium, SDB1, was isolated from mine tailing collected from the Sangdong mine area in Korea and showed chemolithotrophic growth on As[III] and CO2 as the respective electron and carbon sources. SDB1 is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, and belongs to the Sinorhizobium-Ensifer branch of α-Proteobacteria. Growth and As[III] oxidation was enhanced significantly by the presence of yeast extract (0.005%) in minimal salt medium containing 5 mM As[III]; decreasing the doubling time from 9.8 to 2.1 h and increasing the As[III] oxidation rate from 0.014 to 0.349 pmol As[III] oxidized cell-1 h-1. As[III] oxidation nearly stopped at pH around 4 and should be performed at pH 7~8 to be most effective. SDB1 was immobilized in calcium-alginate beads and the oxidation capacity was investigated. Specific As[III] oxidation rates obtained with SDB1 (10.1~33.7 mM As[III] oxidized g-1 dry cell h-1) were 10~16-times higher than those reported previously with a heterotrophic bacterial strain (Simeonova et al., 2005). The stability and reusability of immobilized SDB1 strongly suggested that the immobilized SDB1 cell system can make the As[III] oxidation process technically and economically feasible in practical applications. |
