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Hexavalent chromium reduction and bioremediation potential of Fusarium proliferatum S4 isolated from chromium-contaminated soil

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Abstract

Microbial remediation, utilizing reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), is considered a promising method for lowering toxic environmental chromium levels. In this study, a Cr(VI)-resistant fungal strain, Fusarium proliferatum S4 (F. proliferatum), was isolated from seriously chromium-polluted soil at Haibei Chemical Plant, China. This strain for treatment chromium-containing solution resulted in 100.00%, 93%, and 74% removal at initial concentrations of 10, 30, and 50 mg L−1 Cr(VI), respectively, after 12 days of treatment in a batch mode. Contributions of different cell fractions to Cr(VI) removal were explored. The Cr(VI) removal capacity of various cell components from strong to weak was as follows: cytoplasm, cell secretions, and cell debris. Observations obtained by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that not only the cell surfaces but also the intracellular contents were involved Cr through adsorption, reduction, or accumulation. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that a large number of functional groups (amino, carbonyl, carboxyl, and phosphate groups) participated in chromium binding on the cell surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Cr on the cell surface only as Cr(III). The results have important implications for an in-depth understanding of microbial chromate reduction by F. proliferatum. This study provides an insight into the microbial Cr(VI) bioreduction efficiency, and mechanisms in the chromium-contaminated environment.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41672332), National Key Research and Development Project of China (2019YFC1805901), and National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB846003). We thank all our colleagues and students who were involved in this work for their unremitting efforts. We thank Li Chen at school of physics, Peking University. We also thank all the editors and anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on this manuscript.

Funding

This study was part-funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41672332), National Key Research and Development Project of China (2019YFC1805901) and National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB846003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Bing Shan, Ruixia Hao, Hui Xu, Junman Zhang, Jiani Li, Yinhuang Li & Yubo Ye

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  1. Bing Shan
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Contributions

Bing Shan: writing—original draft, conceptualization, methodology, data curation. Ruixia Hao: writing—review and editing, project administration, funding acquisition. Hui Xu: formal analysis, software, investigation, data curation. Junman Zhang, Jiani Li, Yinhuang Li, and Yubo Ye: investigation and data collection.

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Correspondence to Ruixia Hao.

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Shan, B., Hao, R., Xu, H. et al. Hexavalent chromium reduction and bioremediation potential of Fusarium proliferatum S4 isolated from chromium-contaminated soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 78292–78302 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21323-6

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