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Reduction of Selenite by Azospirillum brasilense with the Formation of Selenium Nanoparticles

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

The ability to reduce selenite (SeO3 2−) ions with the formation of selenium nanoparticles was demonstrated in Azospirillum brasilense for the first time. The influence of selenite ions on the growth of A. brasilense Sp7 and Sp245, two widely studied wild-type strains, was investigated. Growth of cultures on both liquid and solid (2 % agar) media in the presence of SeO3 2− was found to be accompanied by the appearance of the typical red colouration. By means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XFA), intracellular accumulation of elementary selenium in the form of nanoparticles (50 to 400 nm in diameter) was demonstrated for both strains. The proposed mechanism of selenite-to-selenium (0) reduction could involve SeO3 2− in the denitrification process, which has been well studied in azospirilla, rather than a selenite detoxification strategy. The results obtained point to the possibility of using Azospirillum strains as endophytic or rhizospheric bacteria to assist phytoremediation of, and cereal cultivation on, selenium-contaminated soils. The ability of A. brasilense to synthesise selenium nanoparticles may be of interest to nanobiotechnology for “green synthesis” of bioavailable amorphous red selenium nanostructures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. A.G. Shchelochkov and V.F. Kurskii (Saratov, Russia) for their help in carrying out the X-ray fluorescence analyses. This work was supported in part under the Agreement on Scientific Cooperation between the Russian and Hungarian Academies of Sciences for 2011–2013 (Project 29).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 410049, Saratov, Russia

    Anna V. Tugarova & Alexander A. Kamnev

  2. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 410049, Saratov, Russia

    Elena P. Vetchinkina, Ekaterina A. Loshchinina & Valentina E. Nikitina

  3. Laboratory of Immunochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 410049, Saratov, Russia

    Andrei M. Burov

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  1. Anna V. Tugarova
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  2. Elena P. Vetchinkina
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  3. Ekaterina A. Loshchinina
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Correspondence to Anna V. Tugarova or Alexander A. Kamnev.

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Tugarova, A.V., Vetchinkina, E.P., Loshchinina, E.A. et al. Reduction of Selenite by Azospirillum brasilense with the Formation of Selenium Nanoparticles. Microb Ecol 68, 495–503 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0429-y

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