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Chromium(VI) resistance and removal by Acinetobacter haemolyticus

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Abstract

The present work highlighted the studies on Cr(VI) reduction by cells of Acinetobacter haemolyticus (A. haemolyticus). The strain tolerated 90 mg Cr(VI) l−1 in LB broth compared to only 30 mg Cr(VI) l−1 in LB agar. From the FTIR analysis, the Cr(III) species formed was also most likely to form complexes with carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amide groups from the bacteria. A TEM study showed the absence of precipitates on the cell wall region of the bacteria. Instead, microprecipitates were observed in the cytoplasmic region of the cells, suggesting the transportation of Cr(VI) into the cells. Intracellular reduction of Cr(VI) was supported by a reductase test using soluble crude cell-free extracts. The specific reductase activity obtained was 0.52 µg Cr(VI) reduced per mg of protein an hour at pH 7.2 and 37°C. Our results indicated that A. haemolyticus can be used as a promising microorganism for Cr(VI) reduction from industrial wastewaters.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contributions by Puan Aida Suhana bt. Rosly from the Electron Microscopy unit, Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur for invaluable help with the preparation of specimens for TEM analysis. Our sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia for funding of the project (FRGS) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia for the National Science Fellowship scholarship to Quek Hsiao Pei and the Postdoctoral Fellowship to Zainul Akmar Zakaria. Also to Dr. Peter Klappa, Department of Biochemistry, University Of Birmingham for proofreading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Quek Hsiao Pei, Zainul Akmar Zakaria & Wan Azlina Ahmad

  2. Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Shafinaz Shahir

  3. Electron Microcopy Unit, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    A. S. Santhana Raj

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  1. Quek Hsiao Pei
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Correspondence to Wan Azlina Ahmad.

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Pei, Q.H., Shahir, S., Santhana Raj, A.S. et al. Chromium(VI) resistance and removal by Acinetobacter haemolyticus . World J Microbiol Biotechnol 25, 1085–1093 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-009-9989-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-009-9989-2

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