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Mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction by Aspergillus niger: enzymatic characteristic, oxidative stress response, and reduction product

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 22, pages 6271–6279 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Bioremediation of hexavalent chromium by Aspergillus niger was attributed to the reduction product (trivalent chromium) that could be removed in precipitation and immobilized inside the fungal cells and on the surface of mycelium. The site location of reduction was conducted with assays of the permeabilized cells, cell-free extracts, and cell debris, which confirmed that the chromate reductase was mainly located in the soluble fraction of cells. The oxidation–reduction process was accompanied by the increase of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant levels after hexavalent chromium treatment. Michaelis–Menten constant (K m) and maximum reaction rate (V max), obtained from the Lineweaver–Burk plot were 14.68 μM and 434 μM min−1 mg−1 of protein, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectra analyses manifested that both Cr(VI) and Cr(III) species were present on the mycelium. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy analysis suggested that carboxyl, hydroxide, amine, amide, cyano-group, and phosphate groups from the fungal cell wall were involved in chromium binding by the complexation with the Cr(III) and Cr(VI) species. A Cr(VI) removal mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction followed by the surface immobilization and intracellular accumulation of Cr(III) in living A. niger was present.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51108167), Research Fund for Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20100161120011), the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (11JJB003), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Hunan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Yanling Gu, Weihua Xu, Yunguo Liu, Guangming Zeng, Jinhui Huang, Xiaofei Tan, Hao Jian, Xi Hu, Fei Li & Dafei Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Yanling Gu, Weihua Xu, Yunguo Liu, Guangming Zeng, Jinhui Huang, Xiaofei Tan, Hao Jian, Xi Hu, Fei Li & Dafei Wang

Authors
  1. Yanling Gu
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  2. Weihua Xu
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  3. Yunguo Liu
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  4. Guangming Zeng
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  5. Jinhui Huang
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  6. Xiaofei Tan
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  7. Hao Jian
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  8. Xi Hu
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  9. Fei Li
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  10. Dafei Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weihua Xu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlights:

A systematic mechanism of removal of Cr(VI) by living fungi was presented.

The removal efficiency reached above 80 % for 100 mg L−1 Cr (VI) solutions.

Cr(VI)-induced oxidative stress in Aspergillus niger was concentration-dependent.

Key functional groups and their roles in biosorption were described.

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Gu, Y., Xu, W., Liu, Y. et al. Mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction by Aspergillus niger: enzymatic characteristic, oxidative stress response, and reduction product. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 6271–6279 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3856-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3856-x

Keywords

  • Cr(VI) reduction
  • Aspergillus niger
  • Reductase
  • Bio-immobilization
  • Oxidative stress
  • Antioxidant enzyme