ZHU Jian-ming¹, LEI Lei ^1,2, XIAO Xiang³, YUAN Yong-qiang^1,2, QIN Hai-bo^1,2,SU Hui ⁴

1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry,Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang550002,China;
2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing100049,China;
3. Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen361005, China; 4. Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Enshi Prefecture,Enshi,Hubei 445000,China

Abstract: Bacillus Licheniformi,which can reduce the toxic selenite anion to red elemental selenium(Se0),was isolated from a carbonaceous mudstone with high content of Se. The results showed that this strain can stand in 320 mM SeO₃^2-and in more than 1000mM SeO₄^2- . However,the high concentration of SeO₃^2- can inhibit the growth of the strain in liquid medium (YEG). No matter in aerobic culture or anaerobic culture that the strain was inoculated, it can reduce selenite anion to nanospheric elemental selenium granules,distributed around or within the cells. In the liquid YEG medium contains 5mM of selenite,the transformed efficiency of Se⁴⁺to Se0by Bacillus licheniformi was 42%approximately.Since no rigorous requirement for Bacillus licheniformi to live, it is suitable to be selected in microbial remediation techniques as the strains that cope with selenium pollutions,and to produce the nano-Se granules with bioavailability.At the same time, the phenomena of selenite anions reduced to elemental Se by the bacterial provides a chance to further understand the microbial mineralization of selenium in the environment.

Key words: Bacillus licheniformi;reduction of selenite;elemental selenium

*Corresponding Author, E-Mail: zhujianming@vip.gyig.ac.cn

Bulletin of Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry Vol. 30, No.3, 2011, page 20-29

(Source from http://www.cnki.com.cn/)