Using extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)-producing cyanobacteria for the bioremediation of heavy metals: do cations compete for the EPS functional groups and also accumulate inside the cell?

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2011

Autores

Sara Pereira (Autor) Outra; Ernesto Micheletti (Autor) Outra; Andrea Zille (Autor) Outra; Arlete Santos (Autor) FCUP; Pedro Moradas Ferreira (Autor) ICBAS; Paula Tamagnini (Autor) FCUP; Roberto De Philippis (Autor) Outra

Revista

Título: Microbiology

Vol. 157

Páginas: 451-458

ISSN: 1350-0872

Editora: Microbiological Society

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 105 Citações

Scopus - 125 Citações

Classificação Científica

FOS: Ciências exactas e naturais > Ciências biológicas

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-002-VP6

DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.041038-0

Abstract (EN): Many cyanobacteria produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) mainly of polysaccharidic nature. These EPS can remain associated to the cell surface as sheaths, capsules and/or slimes, or be liberated into the surrounding environment as released polysaccharides (RPS). The ability of EPS-producing cyanobacteria to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions has been widely reported in the literature, focusing mainly on the biotechnological potential. However, the knowledge of the effects of the metals in the cell's survival/growth is still scarce, particularly when they are simultaneously exposed to more than one metal. This work evaluated the effects of different concentrations of Cu2+ and/or Pb2+ in the growth/survival of Gloeothece sp. PCC 6909 and its sheathless mutant Gloeothece sp. CCY 9612. The results obtained clearly showed that both phenotypes are more severely affected by Cu2+ than Pb2+, and that the mutant is more sensitive to the former metal than the wild-type. Evident ultrastructural changes were also observed in the wild-type and mutant cells exposed to high levels (10 mg l(-1)) of Cu2+. Moreover, in bi-metal systems, Pb2+ was preferentially removed compared with Cu2+, being the RPS of the mutant that is the most efficient polysaccharide fraction in metal removal. In these systems, the simultaneous presence of Cu2+ and Pb2+ caused a mutual inhibition in the adsorption of each metal.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 8