A novel constructed carbonate-mineralized functional bacterial consortium for high-efficiency cadmium biomineralization

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2021-01, Vol.401, p.123269, Article 123269
• Main Authors: Yin, Tingting, Lin, Hai, Dong, Yingbo, Li, Bing, He, Yinhai, Liu, Chenjing, Chen, Xi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomineralization; Cadmium; Calcium Carbonate; Carbonates; Heavy metal; High-throughput sequencing; Microbial consortium; Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP); RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Urease subunit C (ureC) gene
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123269

[Display omitted] •An urease-producing consortium (UPC) for Cd mineralization was constructed.•Three functional genera increased in acclimation process and compose the consortium.•The consortium exhibited adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions.•92.87 % Cd was mineralized at 8 h to a carbonate bound form by the consortium.•Cd removal ability and microbial structure was stable after multiple transfers. A stable, urease-producing consortium (UPC) was constructed for high-efficiency cadmium (Cd) ion mineralization via a short-term and efficient acclimation process (five acclimation transfers). 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses of the urease subunit C (ureC) gene suggested that the three functional genera, all belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, rapidly increased during the process and finally composed the UPC (70.22–75.41 % of Sporosarcina, 13.83–20.66 % of norank_f_Bacillaceae, and 5.91–13.69 % of unclassified_f_Bacillaceae). The UPC exhibited good adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions (a pH range of 4.0–11.0, temperature range of 10−45 °C, and Cd concentration range of 0−200 mg L−1). After 8 h of incubation, 92.87 % of Cd at an initial concentration of 100 mg L−1 was mineralized by UPC, exhibiting a great improvement as compared to the first acclimated consortium (C-1). Furthermore, although the acclimated consortium had been successively transferred 21 times, the Cd biomineralization efficiency remained stable, and this was consistent with the observed stable microbial community structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra revealed that Cd was mineralized in a (Ca0.67, Cd0.33)CO3 phase. This research obtained a promising microbial resource for the biomineralization of Cd or other hazardous heavy metal contaminants.