Abstract
Methylobacterium strains were isolated from mangrove samples collected in Bertioga, SP, Brazil, from locations either contaminated or uncontaminated by oil spills. The tolerances of the strains to different heavy metals were assessed by exposing them to different concentrations of cadmium, lead, and arsenic (0.1 mM, 0.5 mM, 1 mM, 2 mM, 4 mM, and 8 mM). Additionally, the genetic diversity of Methylobacterium spp. was determined by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA genes. The isolates from the contaminated locations were grouped, suggesting that oil can select for microorganisms that tolerate oil components and can change the methylotrophic bacterial community. Cadmium is the most toxic heavy metal assessed in this work, followed by arsenic and lead, and two isolates of Methylobacterium were found to be tolerant to all three metals. These isolates have the potential to bioremediate mangrove environments contaminated by oil spills by immobilizing the heavy metals present in the oil.
Highlights
Mangrove ecosystems are widely distributed, covering approximately from 60 to 75% of the world’s coasts
From a total of 716 endophytic bacteria isolated, 109 (15.2%) were pinkpigmented bacteria (Figure 1), making it the most abundant group. To verify that these isolates belonged to the Methylobacterium genus, the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with primers specific to this genus, and the gene was amplified in all 109 of the isolates, thereby confirming the bacteria as Methylobacterium species
We isolated a diverse group of endophytic microorganisms from samples collected in Bertioga, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, from locations with and without an oil spill, and from three different mangrove plant species
Summary
Mangrove ecosystems are widely distributed, covering approximately from 60 to 75% of the world’s coasts These ecosystems are very important due to their great diversity of animals, plants, and microorganisms, and because they are some of the most productive environments in the world [1]. The bacteria of the Methylobacterium genus belong to a subclass α-Proteobacteria that are able to degrade onecarbon compounds (C1) such as methanol and methylamine Members of this genus are widely distributed in the environment, colonizing air, soil, sediment, water, plant nodules and grains (endophytically), and leaf surfaces (epiphytically) [3, 4]. Methylotrophic bacteria have an important role in the degradation of different toxic compounds such as phenol
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