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Isolation and Characterization of Altererythrobacter sp. DT for Biotreatment of and Sulfur Production from Thiosulfate-Bearing Industrial Wastewater

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Abstract

The objectives of the present study are to isolate thiosulfate-degrading bacterium and optimize its degradative conditions including temperature, pH, and thiosulfate concentrations required for bioremediation purposes. A heterotrophic thiosulfate-degrading bacterial strain DT was successfully isolated from saline soil and identified as Altererythrobacter sp. based on its physicochemical properties and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. It was a naturally occurring methionine auxotrophic strain that utilized only peptone, yeast extract, or several amino acids as the sole carbon source. Altererythrobacter sp. DT degraded thiosulfate via a distinctive disproportionation reaction which was characterized by accumulation of sulfate and elemental sulfur at a molar ratio of 1:1. Optimal conditions for both bacterial growth and thiosulfate metabolism were 25–30 °C and pH 6, respectively. In a fed-batch treatment system receiving liquid polysulfide wastewater, a high degradation rate of 407.3 mg S2O3 2−/(L h) and an elemental sulfur yield of nearly 50% were achieved for immobilized DT cells, indicating great potential of strain DT for future application in the treatment of and microbial production of elemental sulfur from thiosulfate-bearing industrial wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a research grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project no. 50778089).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Microbiological Engineering of Agricultural Environments, Ministry of Agriculture/College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Xiang Yang Gu & Pei Chong Dou

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  1. Xiang Yang Gu
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  2. Pei Chong Dou
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Correspondence to Xiang Yang Gu.

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Gu, X.Y., Dou, P.C. Isolation and Characterization of Altererythrobacter sp. DT for Biotreatment of and Sulfur Production from Thiosulfate-Bearing Industrial Wastewater. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 28 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3215-2

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