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Characterization of Five Chromium-Removing Bacteria Isolated from Chromium-Contaminated Soil

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Abstract

The potential for bioremediation of chromium pollution using bacteria was investigated in this study. Five chromium-removing bacteria strains were successfully isolated from Cr(VI)contaminated soils and identified by their 16S rRNA gene sequences. The optimum growth temperature (30–40 °C) and pH (8.5–11) for the five isolates were investigated. The effect of initial Cr(VI) concentrations (0–1,575 mg L−1) on bacterial growth was also studied. Results showed that Pseudochrobactrum saccharolyticum strain W1 had high chromium-removing ability and could grow at Cr(VI) concentrations from 0 to 1,225 mg L−1. To our knowledge, this is the first report of chromium removal by a member of the Pseudochrobactrum genus. Sporosarcina saromensis W5 had the highest chromium-removing rate of 0.79 mg h−1 mg−1 biomass. Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and components of the five bacteria strains were also investigated, and a positive relationship was found between the bacterial chromium removal and EPS production.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Dr. Allyson Brady at the University of Calgary for her help in improving the paper. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31370053).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiguo He, Shuzhen Li & Lisha Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Biohydrometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China, 410083

    Zhiguo He, Shuzhen Li & Lisha Wang

  3. School of Life Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China, 410012

    Hui Zhong

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  1. Zhiguo He
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  2. Shuzhen Li
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Correspondence to Hui Zhong.

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He, Z., Li, S., Wang, L. et al. Characterization of Five Chromium-Removing Bacteria Isolated from Chromium-Contaminated Soil. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 1904 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-1904-2

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