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Studies on the removal of Cd ions by gastrointestinal lactobacilli

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Accumulation of toxic metal ions in food and water is nowadays a growing health-related problem. One detoxification method involves the use of microorganisms naturally inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The purpose of this study was to prove that lactic acid bacteria derived from the GIT are able to effectively remove Cd2+ from water solution. Seven strains of lactobacilli, out of 11 examined, showed tolerance to high concentrations of cadmium ions. The metal-removal efficiencies of these seven lactobacilli ranged from 6 to 138.4 μg/h mg. Among these bacteria, Lactobacillus gallinarum and Lactobacillus crispatus belonged to the highest (85%) Cd-removal efficiency class. An analysis of the zeta potential (ζ) indicated that the bacterial cell surface had a negative charge at the pH ranging from 3 to 10. The presence of carboxyl, amide, and phosphate groups was favorable for Cd2+ binding to the cell surface, which found confirmation in FTIR-ATR spectra. Elemental SEM/EDS analysis and TEM imaging not only confirmed the adsorption of Cd2+ on the cell envelope but also gave us a reason to suppose that Lb. crispatus accumulates metal ions inside the cell. Our findings open perspectives for further research on the new biological function of GIT lactobacilli as natural biosorbents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Human Nutrition and Science of Food Commodities, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland

    Magdalena Polak-Berecka, Tomasz Czernecki & Adam Waśko

  2. Institute of Agrophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290, Lublin, Poland

    Patrycja Boguta, Jolanta Cieśla & Andrzej Bieganowski

  3. Laboratory of Confocal and Electron Microscopy, Interdisciplinary Research Center, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland

    Tomasz Skrzypek

Authors
  1. Magdalena Polak-Berecka
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  2. Patrycja Boguta
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  3. Jolanta Cieśla
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  4. Andrzej Bieganowski
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  5. Tomasz Skrzypek
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  6. Tomasz Czernecki
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  7. Adam Waśko
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Correspondence to Magdalena Polak-Berecka.

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Polak-Berecka, M., Boguta, P., Cieśla, J. et al. Studies on the removal of Cd ions by gastrointestinal lactobacilli. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 3415–3425 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-8048-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-8048-9

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