Abstract
BackgroundAn attempt was made to isolate selenite-reducing bacteria from a contaminated lake that receives industrial effluents and domestic sewage. The isolated dominant bacterial strain AJK3 was identified as Bacillus cereus, based on biochemical characterization and 16S rDNA sequencing. The time dependent selenium removal at different selenite concentrations monitored with ICP-AES indicates the substantial selenite reduction capability of the isolated strain. The selenium nanoparticles produced during the bacterial reduction of selenite were analyzed with UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.ResultsThe nanoparticle synthesis was confirmed from the red colour emergence in culture broth and wide UV–vis peaks. The produced nanoparticles were polydisperse, spherical, size varied from 50 to 150 nm and the mean particle size was about 93 nm. The amorphous nature of the generated nanoparticles was confirmed from the Raman spectroscopy, XRD and SAED patterns. The IR data and zeta potential values substantiated the protein capping of the produced nanoparticles.ConclusionsThus, the present study suggests that the isolated bacterial strain can be exploited as a prospective, renewable, natural, nanofactory for the bacteriogenic synthesis of nanoparticles. Also, the study has application in bioremediation of selenite from the contaminated environment.
Highlights
An attempt was made to isolate selenite-reducing bacteria from a contaminated lake that receives industrial effluents and domestic sewage
Identification and biochemical characterization Among the bacterial isolates, the bacterial culture (AJK3) that produced intense red colouration on selenite-supplemented nutrient agar was selected for further characterization
In the current investigation, selenite-reducing bacterial strain AJK3 was isolated from the native bacterial population of a polluted lake
Summary
An attempt was made to isolate selenite-reducing bacteria from a contaminated lake that receives industrial effluents and domestic sewage. The time dependent selenium removal at different selenite concentrations monitored with ICP-AES indicates the substantial selenite reduction capability of the isolated strain. Various anthropogenic activities are causing disturbances to many ecological systems leading to serious ecological imbalance. This is mainly resulting from the contamination of the environment with toxic heavy metals and metalloids. The major sources for the toxic species of selenium: selenate (Se6+), selenite (Se4+), and selenide (Se2−) are industrial effluents, sewage sludges, and agricultural drainage (Ghosh et al 2008; Husen and Siddiqi 2014). The bacterial reduction of selenium oxyanions such as selenite to elemental selenium is one of the major biogeochemical processes involved in
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