M),
five were able to accumulate iron or gallium,
but only two depleted the aluminium stockBacteria Known to actively Transmute Elements & Bio-accumulate
Bacteria Known to actively Transmute Elements
Bacillus Subtilus 168 Gold
Thiobacillus Ferro-oxidans Iron
Sulflobus Breirlyi Iron & Molybdenum
Pseudomonus Aeruginosa Uranium
Beer Yeast & Rhizopus Arryhizus Ur extracted waste Water
Sphaerotilus Leptothrix & hyphomicrobium Manganese
Sphaerotilus Leptothrix & Gallionella Iron
Algae Spirogyra, oscillatoria, chara
& rhizoclonium Mo, Se, Ur & Ra
Algae Synechococcus Cadmium
Actinomyces Streptomycin Calcium From (Si + C)
Laminaria Algae Iodine
Kelp on Schist(Sn) & sandstone Bromine
Pseudononas extracts radioactive Mercury
Micrococcus Urea & urobacillus duclausi eat Urea
Silico bacteria
These next 3 sets of bacteria flourish in the presence of their stimulant metals & so may also be capable of transmutation into a safer environmental situation where these metals are contaminants.
Micrococcus luteus & Azotobactor spp. Lead
Chlamydomonas reinhardi Mercury
Methylobacterium spp. Tungsten or Molydenum
Spirogyra, Rhizoclonium, Hydrodictyon and Cladophora. Lead
A tailing’s pond in the New Lead Belt of Missouri is inhabited by the algae Spirogyra, Rhizoclonium, Hydrodictyon and Cladophora.
Microorganisms ordinarily take up some ions that are necessary for cellular activity. The transport systems for the ions are dependent on both temperature and energy. Examples of trace substances that are readily transported into the cells of microorganisms are magnesium (Mg++), calcium (Ca++), potassium (K+), sodium (Na+) and sulfate (SO4--). Although the mechanisms by which the cells assimilate the ions are highly selective, substitutions are possible. For example, the negatively charged chromate (Cr04--), selenate (Se04--), vanadate (VO4--), tungstate (WO4-) and molybdate (Mo04 --) ions can be transported into the cells of some microorganisms by the system that ordinarily carries sulfate ions.
Mercury and Antimony Mercury-resistant plasmids in bacteria
(Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter) In the same mercury and antimony deposit area Hgr plasmids were also found in Escherichia coli isolates from the gut of Mus musculus mice and Bufo viridis toads.
Antimony is highly toxic to biological systems, but it can be incorporated into lipids ("stibnolipids") in the marine diatom Thalassiosira nana
Volatile trimethylantimony has been detected in the head space above pure cultures of bacteria (Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Clostridium collagenovorans) and methanogenic archaea (Methanobacterium formicicum, M. thermoautotropicum, and Methanosarcina barkeri) conducting anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge (Michalke et al, 2000). Trimethylantimony has also been found above cultures of the fungus Scopulariopsis brevicaulis grown aerobically in the presence of potassium antimony tartrate (Craig et al, 1999). Involatile methylated antimony species have been shown to be produced under aerobic conditions by the bacterium Flavobacterium sp. (Jenkins et al, 2002) and the fungi S. brevicaulis (Andrewes et al,2000) and Phaeolus schweinitzii (Andrewes et al, 2001). Anaerobic production of involatile methylated antimony compounds has been demonstrated by the bacteria C. acetobutylicum, C. butyricum, and C. cochlearium (Smith et al, 2002).
Microbial Methylation of Metalloids: Arsenic, Antimony, and Bismuth Inducible plasmid-determined resistance to arsenate, arsenite, and antimony (III) in escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
Arsenic Concentrations How Bacteria Appear To Affect Groundwater Iron reducing bacteria, Geobacter, grow in the absence of oxygen and can transform solid phase iron (Fe(III)) into Fe(II), which is soluble in water. When bedrock or soil Fe(III) is transformed into Fe(II), any bound arsenic would also be released into the groundwater. Arsenic (As) also has two commonly occurring forms in groundwater: As(III) and As(V). The prevalence of NP4, a microbe from the genus Sulfurospirillum that can transform As(V) to As(III), which is the more toxic form of As. Gut bacteria genetically modified to glow when they sense arsenic could be used to detect contaminated water, which is a major public health threat in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and China.
Arsenic is essential for some "extremophiles," bacteria that are adapted to hot springs and soda lakes. Mono Lake bacterium that respires selenium also can respire arsenic. At least 16 different bacteria have been identified that use arsenic in this way.
Arsenic-eating bacteria found by Dr Joanne Santini, a microbiologist at Melbourne's La Trobe University, studying the 13 bacteria that are known to attach to pebbles and could be used in a bioremediation system
Boron Binding by a Siderophore Isolated from Marine Bacteria Associated with the Toxic Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum Several bacterial species are known to produce a quorum sensing signaling molecule that contains boron (Chen et al, 2002). Boron also functions in plants to cross-link polysaccharides in the cell wall (O'Neill et al, 2001). In these examples, boron is in the form of a borate ester. Boron is also found in the antibiotics boromycin (Kohno et al, 1996) and tartrolon A and B (Irschik et al, 1995), which are synthesized by bacteria. Cleavage of carbon-boron bonds has been described in an Arthrobacter nicotinovorans strain growing on phenyl boronic acid (PBA) as a sole carbon
Bacteria - are relatively tolerant toward boron as are freshwater green algae and blue-green algae. Protozoa – are more sensitive to boron bacteria
BIOACCUMULATION OF COPPER, ZINC, CADMIUM AND LEAD
BY BACILLUS SP., BACILLUS CEREUS, BACILLUS SPHAERICUS AND BACILLUS SUBTILIS
BIOREMDEIATION
Bioavailability and biodegradation of prosulfocarb in soil. Active microbial degraders of the herbicide prosulfocarb (PSC) were isolated to evaluate their performance in soil with a view to their use for bioremediation. (a microbial consortium and a Pseudomonas sp. strain) Bioremediation of PSC contaminated soils could thus be undertaken by biostimulation of indigenous microflora
biodegradation rate and the toxicity of oil residues under severe subantarctic conditions Each plot received 2L of Arabian light crude oil and some of them were treated with bioremediation agents: slow release fertilizer Inipol EAP-22 (Elf Atochem) or fish composts.
A binary mixed culture of Pseudomonas putida F1 and Burkholderia sp. JS150 degraded toluene, phenol, and their mixture. Both toluene and phenol can serve as sole sources of carbon and energy for both P. putida F1 and strain JS150.
The bioremediation of polluted groundwater and toxic waste sites requires that bacteria come into close physical contact with pollutants Three of the five strains (Pseudomonas putida F1, Ralstonia pickettii PKO1, and Burkholderia cepacia G4) were attracted to toluene. In each case, the response was dependent on induction by growth with toluene. Pseudomonas mendocina KR1 and P. putida PaW15 did not show a convincing response Compounds that are growth substrates for P. putida F1, including benzene and ethylbenzene, were chemoattractants. P. putida F1 was also attracted to trichloroethylene (TCE), which is not a growth substrate but is dechlorinated and detoxified by P. putida F1. the introduction of chemotactic bacteria into selected polluted sites may accelerate bioremediation processes. Appl Environ Microbiol 2000 Sep;66(9):4098-104.
The chloroethenes, tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), are among the most common contaminants detected in ground water systems. recent laboratory studies conducted with halorespiring microorganisms suggest that complete reduction to ethene is possible
In situ soil remediation: bacteria or fungi?
with the bacteria Achromobacter sp. and fungus Cunninghamella echinulata var. elegans.
Revue / Journal Title Energy sources (Energy sources) ISSN 0090-8312 CODEN EGYSAO
Remarkable Bacteria Can Make Biodegradable Plastic and Even Eat Toxic Waste
"You can take a bottle made of biodegradable polymer [plastic] and stick it in a pile of leaves or mulch, and it will become water and carbon dioxide within six months," says
Chemist Sheila Browne over 600 bacteria can degrade the plastic.
BARIUM & RADIUM
Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Release Barium and Radium from Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material in Oil-Field Barite Desulfovibrio sp., Str LZK1,
Endotrophic Calcium, Strontium, and Barium Spores of Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus cereus1 Precipitation of Barite by Myxococcus xanthus:
COBALT
B12 is the only vitamin synthesized solely by certain microorganisms Yeast—many of which are abundant in soil. And the only vitamin containing a trace element: cobalt. B12 owes its chemical name—cobalamin
Nickel/cobalt permeases (NiCoTs, TC 2.A.52) are a rapidly growing family of structurally related membrane transporters whose members are found in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, in thermoacidophilic archaea, and in fungi. Ralstonia eutropha, a selective nickel transporter, and by NhlF of Rhodococcus rhodochrous, a nickel and cobalt transporter that displays a preference for the Co ion.
Cobalt accumulation typically occurs via the non-specific CorA magnesium uptake system
COBALT AND BACTERIAL GROWTH, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PROTEUS VULGARIS' ARTHUR L. SCHADE2
An investigation of the effect of cobalt on the growth and metabolism of bacteria, especially of Proteus vulgaris as this penicillin- and sulfa-resistant organism value in cases of peritonitis, cystitis, and eye infections.
CHROME, COPPER & ARSENIC
Bioremediation of chromated copper arsenate-treated waste wood with one or more metal-tolerant. 28 bacteria with the capability of releasing one or more of the components from treated wood. The isolates represent 13 species of 8 different genera of soil-inhabiting bacteria. Three isolates, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus FN02, Aureobacterium esteroaromaticum VV03, and Klebsiella oxytoca CC08, were able to release 98% of the chromium,. Bacillus licheniformis CC01 released the highest percentage of copper, 93%, from treated wood. Eleven isolates, including Bacillus licheniformis CC01 and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus FN 02, released 44% to 48% of the arsenic.
Hexavalent chromium-resistant bacteria isolated from river sediments.
Chromium Reduction by Metal-Reducing and Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria
Testing Chrome on the gut bacteria of rats.The effects were most marked with the Pseudomonas sp. and least with the E. coli. The antibiotic resistance developed with the Lactobacillus may be a blessing in disguise, because the bacteria may continue to provide benefits even in patients given antibiotic therapy. The gut bacteria thus provide the first line of defense to the body by converting toxic Cr (VI) to a less toxic Cr (III) and may act as a prebiotic.
GERMANIUM
Research on germanium toxicity and germanium bioaccumulation has been reviewed by Slawson et al (1992). Bacteria were found to be more tolerant of germanium than yeasts or diatoms, with diatoms showing the lowest tolerance (possibly due to the incorporation of germanium in place of silicon into silicate shells). Evidence suggests that germanium accumulation by algae and bacteria occurs by both active and passive mechanisms. Baier and his collaborators at the University of Arizona and at Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, made the discovery that Pseudomonas syzgii, which find their way into the semiconductor manufacturing process through ultrapure water, cannot be destroyed—despite the best efforts to do so—because they becomes embedded in nearly perfect layers of crystals that grow on top of silicon and germanium.
attach micro-wires to the new "biochip" = Biophotonics.
The uptake of germanium by Pseudomonas putida ATCC 33015 was studied in the presence of catechol or acetate.
GALLIUM
Capacity of siderophore —
producing alkalophilic bacteria to accumulate iron,
gallium and aluminium; six bacterial strains grown in the presence of
iron, gallium or aluminium (10 M),
five were able to accumulate iron or gallium,
but only two depleted the aluminium stock
gallium is required for growth in Aspergillus niger, but no essential biological function for gallium has been identified. Gallium and iron have similar ionic radii, and chelation by iron siderophores has been shown to be a mechanism of gallium uptake in fungi Muller et al, 1985). Gallium accumulation has also been observed in bacteria (Menon et al, 1978), and the toxicity of gallium is likely due to interference with iron-dependent metabolism (Al-Aoukaty, 1992; Olaka et al, 2000). Thiobacillus ferrooxidans can leach gallium from chalcopyrite, (Torma, 1978).
Biomining of gallium and germanium containing ores
bacteria ATCC 53921 and mutations and recombinants thereof. This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. F33615-87-C-5303
Gallium Disrupts Iron Metabolism of Mycobacteria Residing within Human Macrophages
Biodegradation and recovery of gallium and other metals from integrated circuits aerobic thermophilic bacteria having deposit accession number ATCC 53921, being acidophilic and having an affinity for arsenic.
GOLD
Bioaccumulation of Gold by Filamentous Cyanobacteria Between 25 and 200°C
Plectonemaboryanum UTEX 485 was reacted AuCl4− solutions when added to cyanobacteria killed the cultures instantly, and Au was precipitated throughout the cells as nanoparticles. Precipitation of octahedral crystal platelets of Au occurred.
Vikas Berry and Ravi F.
Saraf of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln have converted bacteria into
humidity sensors by studding the cells' surfaces with gold nanoparticles
these are the rodlike
Bacillus cereus bacteria
The world's largest bacteria plant is planned for Wiluna in Western Australia. The bacteria are expected to process some 400,000 tonnes of gold sulphide per year. Gold-mining has always used rather toxic chemicals to extract the gold.
It may be the bacteria Theobacillus ferrooxidans lives off the chemical energy trapped in metal sulphides. These bacteria can also get energy by separating sulphur from zinc, lead and uranium.
Domesticating the Gold Bugs, and the Copper Bugs Too Article #1188 by Carla Helfferich
T. ferrooxidans is pre treating gold-bearing ores to the satisfaction of mining Using bacteria removes the sulphates and improved the rate of gold recovery from 70 to 95 percent.
HYDROGEN
Scientists push bacteria to quadruple hydrogen production, paper entitled Electrochemically Assisted Microbial Production of Hydrogen from Acetate
Chocolate generates electrical power
The team fed Escherichia coli bacteria diluted caramel and nougat waste. The bacteria consumed the sugar and produced hydrogen
IRIDIUM – RHODIUM - RUTHENIUM
Twenty-eight rhodium, iridium, or ruthenium complexes were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonaa aeruginosa ATCC 27853
Microorganisms complicate the k-t boundary
Ancient bacteria, from the K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary of some 65 million years ago. A thin "spike" of iridium that is found worldwide, and which was supposedly deposited by the asteroid impact that helped finish off the dinosaurs. The problem is that the iridium layer is variable in thickness and concentration from site to site. This variability has tended to undermine the asteroid-impact theory.
Recent experiments at Wheaton College by B.D. Dyer et al have demonstrated that bacteria in ground water can both concentrate and disperse iridium deposits. In other words, bacteria could smear out an iridium spike, perhaps partially erase it, or even move it to a deeper or shallower layer of sediment. (Monastersky, R.; "Microbes Complicate the K-T Mystery," Science News, 136: 341, 1989.)
LITHIUM
Bioaccumulation of lithium isotopes by bacteria has been reported (Sakaguchi and Tomita, 2000), and bioleaching of lithium from the mineral spodumene (LiAl(SiO3)2) by fungi and bacteria has been demonstrated (Karavaiko et al, 1980; Rezza et al, 1997).
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, lithium detoxification may also be mediated by efflux through a cation antiporter (Rodriguez-Navarro et al, 1981) as well as by sequestration of lithium ions in the vacuole (Perkins and Gadd, 1993)Lithium ions can substitute for sodium ions (with limited efficiency) to drive the flagellar motor in the bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus (Liu et al, 1990). A Lithium-Sensitive and Sodium-Tolerant 3′-Phosphoadenosine-5′-Phosphatase Encoded by halA from the Cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis Is Closely Related to Its Counterparts from Yeasts and Plants
Removal and Recovery of Lithium Using Various Microorganisms
The accumulation of lithium by microorganisms was examined. Among the 70 strains of the 63 species tested (20 bacteria, 18 actinomycetes, 18 fungi, and 14 yeasts), a high lithium accumulating ability was exhibited by strains of the bacteria, Arthrobacter nicotianae and Brevibacterium helovolum.
MANGANESE
Pseudomonas putida strain MnB1, a biofilm-forming bacterial culture, was used as a model for the study of bacterial Mn oxidation in freshwater and soil environments.
MAGNESIUM & MANGANESE
Magnesium and manganese contents were measureably increased in bacteria of several halophilic levels, in Vibrio costicola, a moderately halophilic eubacterium growing in 1 M NaCl, Halobacterium volcanii, a halophilic archaebacterium growing in 2.5 M NaCl, Halobacterium cutirubrum, an extremely halophilic archaebacterium growing in 4 M NaCl, and Escherichia coli, a nonhalophilic eubacterium growing in 0.17 M NaCl.
A magnesium seawater cell, with its cathode covered by a colony of special bacteria, yields a higher voltage at a given current density than when bacteria are not present.
Formation of bobierrite (magnesium phosphate) crystal aggregates by bacteria from human urine and renal calculi.
MANGANESE
The importance of manganese in Rhodobacter capsulatus acetone carboxylase has been established through a combination of physiological, biochemical, and spectroscopic studies.
Lactobacillus plantarum, a lactic acid bacterium, and Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterial pathogen that causes Lyme disease require manganese
MOLYBDENUM
Interaction of sulfate-reducing bacteria with molybdenum dissolved from sputter-deposited molybdenum thin films and pure molybdenum powder = bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans
Isolation of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Containing Molybdenum-Independent Nitrogenases from Natural Environments
The diazotrophs which have been shown to have Mo-independent nitrogenase systems include physiologically and phylogenetically diverse laboratory microorganisms, such as Clostridium pasteurianum (30), Rhodobacter capsulatus (25–27), Anabaena variabilis (16, 28), Rhodospirillum rubrum (8, 20), Heliobacterium gestii (18), and Azospirillum brasilense (6).
OSMIUM
Biosensors -Wiring of whole living bacteria with osmium-redox polymers Gluconobacter oxydans and Pseudomonas putida DSM 50026 were used as the biological components serving both as model bacteria but also for possible future applications in biosensing and biofuel cells
Palladium Bacteria used to power fuel cell To produce nanoparticles out of the noble metal palladium a team of biologists from the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf (FZR) in Dresden use the surface protein layer (S-layer) of one bacterium. Through this layer the bacterium Bacillus sphaericus JG-A12“ is able to survive in the extreme environment of a uranium mining waste pile.
Researchers experimented with the bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Escherichia coli. Prior studies revealed that these bacteria could, in the presence of hydrogen gas or the organic molecule formate, take palladium from solution and deposit it as nanocrystals on their cell surfaces. The bacteria also pulled out aluminum, platinum and silver from the waste as nanocrystals. These dead nanocrystal-coated bacteria in bioreactors where they flowed industrial waste past loaded with a carcinogenic form of chromium known as chromium-VI. These bioreactors were capable of transforming chromium-VI into the non-carcinogenic chromium-III version that could get extracted out. Mabbett and her colleagues published their findings in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The palladium-loaded bacteria might also help break down widespread organic pollutants known as PCBs, the researchers noted. Lens added the nanocatalysts could also target runoff from insecticides and pesticides as well as contaminants known as PBDEs,
Within the pores of the protein layer, palladium ions are transformed into the noble metal palladium by hydrogen. The resulting nanoclusters of metallic palladium, composed of just 50 to 80 atoms, are regularly arranged on the surface layer. This combined metal-protein layer has some unusual physical and chemical properties. Because the metal stabilizes the protein and vice versa the protein layer does not break down at higher temperatures or even in acid. It is the enormous surface area to volume ratio that makes the nanoclusters interesting to chemists.
In E. coli of the Zymomonas mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase and the unspecific acyltransferase from Acinetobacter baylyi strain ADP1. Ethanol for industrial production of biodiesel
RHODIUM
Potential applications of rhodium quinones
Catalysis Rhodium quinones are highly effective catalysts for so-called carboncarbon
coupling reactions. These reactions are essential to make drugs
for cancer, depression and other diseases.
Synthesis Rhodium quinones can also be used to make a new class of organolithium
reagents. These compounds are used to make a wide variety of industrial
chemicals, such as polymers and plastics, and are among the most important
reagents available for the synthesis of new materials
Storage Dwight and his team have shown that rhodium quinones, in a solid state, feature
channels suitable for storage of hydrogen and other gases, and might be used in fuel cells to generate electricity.
Rhenium in Azotobacter vinelandii (Bishop et al, 1982). Desulfovibrio desulfuricans can reduce rhenium(VII) to rhenium(IV) using H2 as an electron donor under anaerobic conditions (Xu et al, 2000).
Rhodium(III) Recovery from Solutions and Industrial Wastewaters by a Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Consortium Recovery of elemental platinum/palladium/rhodium from industrial slime wastes by using Sulphate Reducing Bacteria. The Rhodes University Bioremediation and Environmental Enzymology Group has, for many years, been studying the biotechnology of sulphate reducing bacteria involved with removal of heavy metals from acid mine drainage
Rhodobacter Speroides is
SELENIUM
Metal coating provides long-life contact lenses some lenses can build up a bacterial biofilm, which can obscure vision or cause eye infections. But this will not happen if lenses are coated with the antibacterial metal selenium
Selenium nanospheres created by certain anaerobic bacteria have optical properties unlike those grown by chemical methods. That’s the finding of researchers at the US Geological Survey, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, New Mexico State University, all in the US, and the University of Guelph in Canada.
selenium produced by the anaerobic bacteria Sulfurospirillum barnesii, Bacillus selenitireducens and Selenihalanaerobacter shriftii. The bacteria respire selenium oxyanions, creating elemental selenium in the form of nanospheres with a diameter of 200 to 400 nm.
Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) accumulates high tissue Se concentrations and volatilizes Se in relatively nontoxic forms, such as dimethylselenide. This study showed that the presence of bacteria in the rhizosphere of Indian mustard was necessary
Silver-resistant, Silver-accumulating bacteria
silver-resistant Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from both sewage and photographic processing effluent also a strain of Citrobacter intermedius. A silver uptake study by Pseudomonas diminuta was also done
Bioaccumulation and distribution of silver in four marine teleosts (rainbow trout, tidepool sculpin, plainfin midshipmen, and English sole) and two marine elasmobranchs: (marine fish,Pacific spiny dogfish and long nose skate)
SILICON
Bacterial Integrated Circuits By interfacing bacteria to silicon chips, NASA-supported researchers have created a device that can sense almost anything. these devices, known as BBICs, or Bioluminescent Bioreporter Integrated Circuits, to track pollution on earth
SILVER
A silver uptake study by Pseudomonas diminuta, higher amounts of silver were accumulated inside the cell during early exponential phase compared to the amount bound at the cell surface.
Bioaccumulation and distribution of silver in four marine teleosts and two marine elasmobranchs (Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, Canada)
TELLURITE Resistance and Reduction by Obligately Aerobic Photosynthetic Bacteria
Seven species of obligately aerobic photosynthetic bacteria of the genera Erythromicrobium, Erythrobacter,and Roseococcus demonstrated high-level resistance to tellurite and accumulation of metallic tellurium crystals.
High-level resistance without tellurite reduction was observed for Roseococcus thiosulfatophilus and Erythromicrobium ezovicum grown with certain organic carbon sources, implying that tellurite reduction is not essential to confer tellurite resistance.
Tellurium compounds can be found in high concentrations in land and water near sites of waste discharge of industrial manufacturing processes (5). Potassium tellurite (K2TeO3) is toxic to many microorganisms at concentrations as low as 1 mg/ml (13, 14, 19
(e.g., Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Streptococcus faecalis, and some Staphylococcus aureus strains), this resistance (14
A constitutive high-level resistance (HLR) to rare earth oxides and oxyanions at concentrations approaching 1,000 mg/ml was recently described for photosynthetic purple nonsulfur
bacteria of the alpha subclass of Proteobacteria (9, 10).
Seven species, Erythrobacter litoralis T4, Roseococcus thiosulfatophilus RB3, Erythromicrobium ramosum E5 (28), Erythromicrobium sibiricum RB16-17, Erythromicrobium ursincola KR99, Erythromicrobium ezovicum E1, and Erythromicrobium hydrolyticum E4(1) (23–27) (personal collection of Vladimir Yurkov), have been studied.
TELLURIUM
Tellurite Resistance and Reduction by Obligately Aerobic Photosynthetic Bacteria
V. Yurkov, J. Jappe, and A. Vermeglio
Seven species of obligately aerobic photosynthetic bacteria of the genera Erythromicrobium, Erythrobacter, and Roseococcus demonstrated high-level resistance to tellurite and accumulation of metallic tellurium crystals. High-level resistance without tellurite reduction was observed for Roseococcus thiosulfatophilus and Erythromicrobium ezovicum grown with certain organic carbon sources, implying that tellurite reduction is not essential to confer tellurite resistance.
TIN Resistance to organic tin compounds of P. aeruginosa and E. coli carrying antibiotic resistance plasmids and to P. putida
Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the first organism shown to produce methyltin compounds in pure culture (Ashby and Craig, 1987).
TUNGSTEN
Biological projectiles (phage, yeast, bacteria) for genetic transformation of plants
Escherichia coli cells complexed with tungsten were the most effective projectile for plant transformation.
The only organisms known to require tungsten for life are some species of hyperthermophilic archaea (Pyrococcus furiosus and Thermococcus litoralis). However, tungsten-containing enzymes have been discovered in several other species of archaea and bacteria.
URANIUM
As the microbes obtain their oxygen from soluble uranium oxide, for example, they transform it into a highly insoluble form called uraninite. At Oak Ridge, Criddle will be working with several bacteria, including members of a genus called Desulfovibrio, which numbers more than 30 distinct species. Microbiologist Derek Lovley of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has built a field site for testing the ability of a class of microbes, called Geobacters, to attack the uranium waste problem at the old Rifle mines insoluble forms that could be filtered from streams and underground aquifers.
The most radiation-resistant organism in the world. D. radiodurans may be engineered to produce a new "superbug" that could decontaminate the most intensely radioactive wastes on Earth.
Vanadium-Binding Protein Excreted by Vanadate-Reducing Bacteria Pseudomonas isachenkovii
ZINC . Thus its transport is regulated by zinc repressors ZUR of proteobacteria and Gram-positive bacteria from the Bacillus group and AdcR of bacteria from the Streptococcus group.
A zinc-containing bacteriochlorophyll has also been discovered in photosynthetic bacteria of the genus Acidiphilium (reviewed by Hiraishi and Shimada, 2001).
Zinc metalloproteases (Miyoshi and Shinoda, 2000) and zinc metallophospholipases C (Titball, 1993) have been identified as virulence factors in some pathogenic bacteria. Other microbial zinc-containing enzymes include superoxide dismutases (reviewed by Klotz et al, 2003) and carbonic anhydrases (reviewed by Smith and Ferry, 2000).
Here we describe related bacterial metallothioneins (BmtA) from Anabaena PCC 7120, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida that bind multiple zinc ions with high stability towards protons.