Marine microbes as selenium and tellurium collector and convertor

Abstract

For isolation of selenium (tellurium) oxyanion-reducing microbes, various biological, aquatic and sediment samples were collected from diverse marine environments by training ships cruises in Pacific Ocean and East China Sea areas. Moreover, deep-sea sediment and water from 6,500m in depth to 7,000m in Japan Trench, were also collected via the ocean survey research in 2007 November. Marine microbes capable of reducing selenium (and/or tellurium) oxyanions into elemental selenium (and/or tellurium), could be obtained from almost samples that were collected in marine organisms and environments. The results suggested that selenium (tellurium) oxyanion reducers were able to be obtained from almost of the collected samples, and were distributed in diverse marine organisms and environments. Furthermore, several isolates had the ability which can reduce and produce selenate (and/or tellurate) to pure elemental selenium (and/or tellurium) biospheres under aerobic condition as well anaerobic condition. This fact demonstrated that marine microbes can be effective biological tools for the conversion and recovery of chalcogen elements such as selenium and tellurium, bioremediation for selenium polluted agricultural fields and selenium (and/or tellurium) biomanufacturing and biomineralization.