The Cu2+-tolerant yeast Yarrowia lipolytica accumulated Cu2+ until the late logarithmic phase. Thereafter, Cu2+ was temperature-dependently extruded into phosphate-limited culture medium containing high concentrations of heavy metal ions but not into 10 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethane sulfonic acid (MES) buffer (pH 6.0). Peptone in the culture medium played an important role in the extrusion, which p...

We have developed a thiol-modified nanoporous silica material (SH-SAMMS) as an oral therapy for the prevention and treatment of heavy metal poisoning. SH-SAMMS has been reported to be highly efficient at capturing heavy metals in biological fluids and water. Herein, SH-SAMMS was examined for efficacy and safety in both in vitro and in vivo animal models for the oral detoxification of heavy meta...

The removal of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb) from anaerobically digested sludge from the Yuen Long wastewater treatment plant, Hong Kong, has been studied in a batch system using isolated indigenous iron-oxidizing bacteria. The inoculation of indigenous iron-oxidizing bacteria and the addition of FeSO4 accelerated the solubilization of Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb from the sludge. pH of the slu...

The molecular responses of hydroponically cultivated tomato plants to As(V) or Cr(VI) were assessed by transcript accumulation analysis of genes coding for products potentially involved in heavy metal tolerance. A quantitative real-time PCR experiment was performed with Hsp90-1, MT2- and GR1-like protein genes using RNA isolated from tomato roots or shoots treated for 24h with As(V) or Cr(VI) a...

Background: Defensin peptide isolated from plants are often heterogeneous in length, sequence and structure, but they are mostly small, cationic and amphipathic. Plant defensins exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi and etc. Plant defensins also play an important role in innate immunity, such as he...

Bacteria are often iron-limited, and hence produce extracellular iron-scavenging siderophores. A crucial feature of siderophore production is that it can be an altruistic behaviour (individually costly but benefitting neighbouring cells), thus siderophore producers can be invaded by non-producing social 'cheats'. Recent studies have shown that siderophores can also bind other heavy metals (such...

Bacterial isolates from 30 farmed bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) weighing 500-600 g at Johore, Malaysia with external clinical signs of ulcer, red leg and torticollis were tested for their antibiograms and heavy metal tolerance patterns. A total of 17 bacterial species with 77 strains were successfully isolated and assigned to 21 antibiotics and 4 types of heavy metal (Hg(2+), Cr(6+), Cd(2...

Heavy-metal-tolerant bacteria, GIMN1.004(T), was isolated from mine soils of Dabaoshan in South China, which were acidic (pH 2-4) and polluted with heavy metals. The isolation was Gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, and rod-shaped bacteria having a cellular width of 0.5-0.6 µm and a length of 1.3-1.8 µm. They showed a normal growth pattern at pH 4.0-9.0 in a temperature ranging from 5 °C...

The photosynthetic efficiency of Cornus controversa leaves was decreased significantly under Cd treatment while it was not affected by Pb exposure. Cd decreased while Pb treatment increased the chlorophyll contents of Cornus controversa leaves. Furthermore, the peroxidase (GPX) activities were decreased after Cd treatment while elevated by Pb exposure in Cornus controvera seedlings. In addition...

Deep-ocean hydrothermal-vent environments are rich in heavy metals and metalloids and present excellent sites for the isolation of metal-resistant microorganisms. Both metalloid-oxide-resistant and metalloid-oxide-reducing bacteria were found. Tellurite- and selenite-reducing strains were isolated in high numbers from ocean water near hydrothermal vents, bacterial films, and sulfide-rich rocks....