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Bioreduction of hexavalent chromium by Pseudomonas stutzeri L1 and Acinetobacter baumannii L2

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Abstract

Bioreduction of the very toxic hexavalent chromium ion [Cr(VI)] to the non-toxic trivalent chromium ion [Cr(III)] is a key remediation process in chromium-contaminated sites. In this study, we investigated the bioreduction of Cr(VI) by Pseudomonas stutzeri L1 and Acinetobacter baumannii L2. The optimum pH (5–10), temperature (27, 37 and 60 °C) and initial chromium Cr(VI) concentration (100–1000 mg L−1) for Cr(VI) reduction by strains L1 and L2 were determined using the diphenylcarbazide method. In the presence of L1 and L2, the bioreduction rate of Cr(VI) was 40–97 and 84–99%, respectively. The bioreduction of Cr(VI) by L2 was higher, reaching up to 84%—than that by L1. The results showed that strain L2 was able to survive even if exposed to 1000 mg L−1 of Cr(VI) and that this tolerance to the effects of Cr(VI) was linked to the activity of soluble enzyme fractions. Overall, A. baumannii L2 would appear to be a potent Cr(VI)-tolerant candidate for the bioremediation of chromium (VI)-contaminated wastewater effluent.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by Department of Biotechnology (Government of India) in the form of a Ramalingaswami re-entry Fellowship (BT/RLF/Re-entry/17/2012) and the University Grants Commission-MRP (MRP-MAJOR-MICRO-2013-31825). We thank Dr. K. Ravichandran, Associate Professor, Department of English, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore for his assistance during manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Environmental Molecular Microbiology Research Laboratory, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, 632 115, India

    Kuppusamy Sathishkumar & Aruliah Rajasekar

  2. Division of Entomology, Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, 641 046, India

    Kadarkarai Murugan

  3. Thiruvalluvar University, Serkkadu, Vellore, 632 115, Tamil Nadu, India

    Kadarkarai Murugan

  4. Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Benelli

  5. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, Zhongli, Taoyuan City, 32001, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

    Akon Higuchi

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  1. Kuppusamy Sathishkumar
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  2. Kadarkarai Murugan
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  3. Giovanni Benelli
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  4. Akon Higuchi
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  5. Aruliah Rajasekar
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Correspondence to Aruliah Rajasekar.

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Sathishkumar, K., Murugan, K., Benelli, G. et al. Bioreduction of hexavalent chromium by Pseudomonas stutzeri L1 and Acinetobacter baumannii L2. Ann Microbiol 67, 91–98 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-016-1240-4

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