Magnetosomes are nanosized iron oxide particles surrounded by lipid membrane synthesized by magnetotactic bacteria (MTB). Magnetosomes have been exploited for a broad range of biomedical and biotechnological applications. Due to their enormous potential in the biomedical field, its safety assessment is necessary. Detailed research on the toxicity of the magnetosomes was not studied so far. This study focuses on the toxicity assessment of magnetosomes in various models such as Human RBC's, WBC's, mouse macrophage cell line (J774), Onion root tip and fish (Oreochromis mossambicus). The toxicity in RBC models revealed that the RBC's are unaltered up to a concentration of 150 lg/ml, and its morphology was not affected. The genotoxicity studies on WBC's showed that there were no detectable chromosomal aberrations up to a concentration of 100 lg/ml. Similarly, there were no detectable morphological changes observed on the magnetosome-treated J774 cells, and the viability of the cells was above 90% at all the tested concentrations. Furthermore, the magnetosomes are not toxic to the fish (O. mossambicus), as no mortality or behavioural changes were observed in the magnetosome-treated groups. Histopathological analysis of the same reveals no damage in the muscle and gill sections. Overall, the results suggest that the magnetosomes are safe at lower concentration and does not pose any potential risk to the ecosystem.
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution to the environment is a major threat to the living organisms, and hence the degradation of these PAHs is necessary. Studies on PAHs degrading bacteria have focussed on terrestrial microbes and the potential of marine derived microbes is undermined. Herein we report the isolation and characterization of PAHs degrading Burkholderia sp. from lagoon sediments collected at the Southern coast of India. The strain was Gram negative, rod-shaped, motile, and ∼2–5 μm in length. Based on the phylogenetic data the strain was identified as Burkholderia and designated as VITRSB1. Initial PAHs degradation ability of the strain was assessed using basal salt medium supplemented with diesel, kerosene, toluene, aniline, naphthalene, and phenol. The strain was found to be effectively degrading kerosene, diesel, toluene, and aniline even at higher concentration (1%). However, naphthalene and aniline were degraded only at lower concentration (0.1%) and phenol, camphor, and DAP inhibited the growth of the strain. Furthermore, the degraded end products of the PAHs were determined using FTIR. Notably, none of the end products were found to be toxic to the biosphere. Our results indicate that the isolated Burkholderia sp. could be a prospective candidate for the effective degradation of selective PAHs.
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are aquatic prokaryotes that orient themselves to earth's magnetic field with the help of intracellular organelle magnetosomes. Although many species of MTB have been identified, the isolation of MTB is a challenging task due to the lack of systematic isolation procedure and/or commercial media. In this study, we are reporting the isolation of magnetotactic spirillum from the Pulicat lagoon, India using a systematic and selective procedure. Sampling site was chosen on the basis of physicochemical properties of the ecosystem and the catalysed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) analysis of sediment samples. In the current study, a combination of techniques including 'capillary racetrack' Purification and gradient cultivation resulted in the isolation of magnetotactic spirilla from aquatic sediments. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the strain was identified as Magnetospirillum and was designated as Magnetospirillum sp. VITRJS1. The genes responsible for magnetosome formation (mamA, B, E, F, K, M, O, P, Q, T) were successfully detected using PCR amplification. The presence of cbbM gene confirmed that the isolate is chemolithoautotroph and utilises reduced sulphur as an electron source. Furthermore, magnetosomes extracted from VITRJS1 found to be cubo-octahedral in shape and 45 nm in size. Our results indicate that the systematic procedure using sediment analysis, CARD-FISH, and a combination of isolation methods enables the selective and rapid isolation of MTB from aquatic sediment sample.
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and have been identified from almost every continent; however, there are only a few reports of MTB from India. This article studies the diversity of cultivable MTB from the southern coast of India. Five strains of MTB have been identified in this study using gradient culturing; three of the five strains were isolated in pure culture. The strains identified are vibrioid to helical in morphology and grow microaerophilically in oxygen-sulphide gradient media. Phylogenetic analysis of isolates based on 16S rRNA gene sequences shows that they belong to the family Rhodospirillaceae, class Alphaproteobacteria, and genus Magnetospirillum. The three isolated strains were physiologically characterized and found to utilize a wide range of substrates as electron donors and electron acceptors for metabolism. The autotrophic growth of the strains was confirmed by the detection of type-II RuBisCO (cbbM) gene by PCR amplification. The presence of key magnetosome formation (mam) genes in the strains confirms the similar mechanism of magnetosome biomineralization among Magnetospirillum species. These reports of MTB from the Indian coast would contribute to the study of their evolution and biomineralization.
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