Harnessing synthetic biology for sustainable biomining with Fe/S-oxidizing microbes

Chen, Jinjin; Liu, Yilan; Diep, Patrick; Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.920639

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Moreover, the accumulation of chemical pesticides is considered one of the most problematic issues, which in turn directly influences human health. Some studies have indicated that exposure to pesticides during pregnancy negatively affects fetal growth and, in some cases, may lead to fetal deformities [3] and [4]. [5], indicated that the consumption of chemical pesticides in the world was estimated as two million tons during the past four decades, and Europe constitutes 50% of global consumption, while the United States represents 25% and the rest of the world 25%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodegradation of Difenoconazole Using Fungal-Bacterial Consortia

Wared Musa,

Abass,

Al-Farttoosy

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Pesticides are used all over the world in agricultural operations to reduce the damage of pests and to improve the productivity of agricultural crops. The excessive use of these chemical compounds has led to the deterioration of soil and increase the level of pollution of water and air resources. Moreover, the continuous use and non-target toxicity of pesticides has become a major concern to the agricultural ecosystem that directly hinders the productivity of agricultural products. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and identify fungal and bacterial species with the ability to biodegrade fungicide via conducting preliminary tests to find out which of them have the ability to grow in a treated medium with a fungicide Difenoconazole, which belongs to the group of the pesticides Triazoles. The fungi and bacteria that succeeded in growing were as follow Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus, Bacillus cereus S1 and Bacillus cereus S2 were identified by extracting their genomic DNA and applying the primers ITS and 16s rRNA for both examined fungi and bacteria, respectively. The fungi were laboratory adapted to multiple concentrations reaching the highest concentration of 550 mgL-1, while bacteria reached 1200 mgL-1 laboratory to break down the pesticide. The results of the combinations tested as the B. cereus S1 and B. cereus S2 were the fastest growing in the liquid medium PDB at the concentration of 325 mgL-1. While the combination A. flavus and B. cereus S1 had the highest biodegrading ability at the same concentration, which led to the disappearance of the pesticide Difenoconazole turbidity in the liquid medium as a result of its consumption by fungal and bacterial isolates. As for the treatment of the pesticide in the solid PDA medium to know its effect on the growth of fungi and the formation of spores, the results revealed that fungal isolates increase their vegetative growth when the concentration increases, the production of fungal spores decreases, and indicates the ability of the fungi to use the pesticide as an energy source.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodegradation of Difenoconazole Using Fungal-Bacterial Consortia

Wared Musa,

Abass,

Al-Farttoosy

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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“…8,9 Nonetheless, the utilization of Acidithiobacillus in biomining presents several challenges that need to be addressed, such as excess sulfuric acid generation, a long growth cycle, a low biomining rate, and a lack of selectivity when releasing metals. 10 biology offers promising solutions to these problems. Recent studies have demonstrated that genetically engineered Acidithiobacillus strains exhibit significantly improved biomining performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are capable of oxidizing iron and/or sulfur to derive energy and fix carbon dioxide as their primary carbon source . Members of Acidithiobacillus are well-known for their efficient biomining capabilities and are harnessed to recover metals and rare earth elements from a variety of sources, such as ores, mine tailings, electric wastes, and spent batteries. − Their highly adaptive nature and ability to thrive under extreme conditions make them promising candidates for bioremediation and biomining applications and future space biomining missions. , Nonetheless, the utilization of Acidithiobacillus in biomining presents several challenges that need to be addressed, such as excess sulfuric acid generation, a long growth cycle, a low biomining rate, and a lack of selectivity when releasing metals . Synthetic biology offers promising solutions to these problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Engineering of Acidithiobacillus ferridurans Using CRISPR Systems To Mitigate Toxic Release in Biomining

Chen,

Liu,

Mahadevan

2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Biomining processes utilize microorganisms, such as Acidithiobacillus, to extract valuable metals by producing sulfuric acid and ferric ions that dissolve sulfidic minerals. However, excessive production of these compounds can result in metal structure corrosion and groundwater contamination. Synthetic biology offers a promising solution to improve Acidithiobacillus strains for sustainable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective biomining, but genetic engineering of these slow-growing microorganisms is challenging with current inefficient and time-consuming methods.To address this, we established a CRISPR-dCas9 system for gene knockdown in A. ferridurans JAGS, successfully downregulating the transcriptional levels of two genes involved in sulfur oxidation. More importantly, we constructed an all-in-one CRISPR-Cas9 system for fast and efficient genome editing in A. ferridurans JAGS, achieving seamless gene deletion (HdrB3), promoter substitution (Prus to Ptac), and exogenous gene insertion (GFP). Additionally, we created a HdrB-Rus double-edited strain and performed biomining experiments to extract Ni from pyrrhotite tailings. The engineered strain demonstrated a similar Ni recovery rate to wild-type A. ferridurans JAGS but with significantly lower production of iron ions and sulfuric acid in leachate. These high-efficient CRISPR systems provide a powerful tool for studying gene functions and creating useful recombinants for synthetic biology-assisted biomining applications in the future.

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“…The environmental release of bioengineered organisms is increasingly being suggested for a variety of applications, including bioremediation 1 , biosequestration 2 , bio-mining 3 , environmental biosensing 4 and conservation 5 . The objectives of many environmental release applications shift the goals of biocontainment from preventing organism spread outside of closed spaces (e.g., laboratories or bioreactors) to managing the persistence of engineered organisms and their genetic material in open, dynamic environments.…”

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confidence: 99%