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Siderophore-assisted cadmium hyperaccumulation in Bacillus subtilis

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Abstract

Siderophores (Gk iron carriers) are low molecular weight secondary metabolites produced by bacteria, fungi, and plants that have strong binding affinity for iron. Owing to their iron-chelating ability, they are produced mainly when the organism faces iron scarcity. The present study empirically investigated the importance of applying hydroxamate siderophore extracted from Aspergillus nidulans to the cells of Bacillus subtilis for bioremediation of cadmium salt. This investigation deals with siderophore-mediated intracellular Cd accumulation by bacterial cells, growth estimation, biochemical assays like lipid peroxidation, total protein content, carbohydrate content, and iron content estimation. In silico docking and STRING analyses revealed specific interaction between Aspergillus siderophore and receptors present on B. subtilis. Estimation of intracellular Cd by atomic absorption spectroscopy showed more accumulation of Cd ions by B. subtilis in the presence of hydroxamate siderophore. This suggests a possibility of confiscating environmental Cd2+ by utilizing metal chelation property of siderophores and hence can lead to emerging bioremediation mechanisms for heavy metals. In silico studies support experimental investigation and suggest higher affinity of siderophore for Cd ions as compared with ferric ions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors Azmi Khan and Pratika Singh are thankful to the University Grant Commission, New Delhi, for providing financial support as fellowship.

Funding

The authors Azmi Khan and Pratika Singh are receiving financial support from University Grant Commission, New Delhi, in the form of non-NET fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Science, School of Earth, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, 824236, India

    Azmi Khan, Adity Gupta, Pratika Singh & Amrita Srivastava

  2. Centre for Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Arun Kumar Mishra

  3. Department of Environmental Science, School of Earth, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India

    Rajesh Kumar Ranjan

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  1. Azmi Khan
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  2. Adity Gupta
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  4. Arun Kumar Mishra
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  6. Amrita Srivastava
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Correspondence to Amrita Srivastava.

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Khan, A., Gupta, A., Singh, P. et al. Siderophore-assisted cadmium hyperaccumulation in Bacillus subtilis. Int Microbiol 23, 277–286 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-019-00101-4

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