shaghayegh nasr

Uranium, as one of the heavy metals, is a natural radionuclide that has harmful effects on human health and the environment due to its serious toxicity and radiation properties. Biosorption is a simple and cost-effective technique that can be used for remove of heavy metals and Radionuclides from waste waters. In this study, Micrococcus luteus biomass pretreated with autoclave heat was used. Then, physicochemical factor affecting the biosorption including biosorbent dose, initial uranium concentration, temperature and pH were investigated by Response Surface Methodology. The results showed that the factor of initial uranium concentration, sorbent dose and pH statistically (p-value‹ 0.05) affect the uranium biosorption process. In contrast, temperature factor (p-value› 0.05) statistically have no effect on uranium removal by M. luteus. Discussion and The results indicated that the pre-treated biomass under the conditions suggested by Design Expert software (19.75 g/liter of biomass, temperature 32.14 OC and pH 3.33) is able to remove approximately 99.98 percent of uranium from the contaminated area is 26.11 mg/liter of uranium, which shows its valuable potential in bioremediation applications of uranium from acidic wastewaters contaminated with low concentrations of uranium.

Toxic heavy metal contamination of industrial water is a significant universal problem. They accumulate in living tissues throughout the food chain which has humans at its top. These toxic metals can cause accumulative poisoning, cancer, and brain damage. Uranium is one of the most serious heavy metals because of its high toxicity and radioactivity. Excessive amounts of uranium have found their way into the environment through the activities associated with the nuclear industry (1). Conventional methods for removing uranium from wastewater include precipitation, evaporation, ion exchange, membrane processing, and adsorption. Nevertheless, these methods have several disadvantages, such as high installation and operating costs, the requirement of preliminary treatment steps, the difficulty of treating the subsequently generated solid waste, and low efficiency at low metal concentration (2,3). Owing to an increase in environmental awareness, there has been an emphasis on the development of new environmentally friendly ways to decontaminate waters using low-cost methods and materials. In this study, microbial biomass has emerged as a complementary, economic, and eco-friendly device for controlling the mobility and bioavailability of metal ions (2,4). The present work evaluates the performance of the Citrobacter freundii biomass to remove uranium ions from aqueous solutions. The effect of pH, temperature, initial concentration, and sorbent dose on biosorption capacity is also studied.

Materials: Citrobacter freundii bacteria used in this research with PTCC No. 1772 was purchased from the Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of Iran. Uranyl nitrate salt (UO2(NO3)2.6H2O) was obtained from the Research Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technologies. Nutrient Broth culture medium, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide and other materials used in this research were supplied from the Merck Company.Preparation of uranium solutions and biomass: A stock solution containing 1000 mg L-1 of U(VI) was prepared of UO2(NO3)4.6H2O. The working solutions were prepared daily from stock solutions. In this study, the biomass of Citrobacter freundii bacteria was heat treated in an autoclave at a temperature of 121°C for 15 minutes at a pressure of 1.5 atmospheres. Experimental design and batch biosorption studies: The design of the experiment was done using the response surface method by Design Expert software. Four variables, including initial uranium concentration (mg/l), temperature (°C), pH, and biosorbent dose (g/l), in five levels α-, -1, 0, +1, α+, 1 were used to design the experiment (Table 1). Therefore, 27 experiments were presented using a central composite design. The values of the variables and the obtained answers are shown in Table 2. Uranium biosorption experiments were performed by adding specified amounts of bacterial biomass in 20 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing uranium solution with the concentration and pH corresponding to each experiment, with the specified temperature in the Shaker. After 90 minutes, each sample was centrifuged at 4500 rpm for 15 minutes at 4°C. Then, the remaining uranium in the solution was measured by ICP (Perkin Elmer/Optima 7300DV). The percentage of uranium removal (R) was calculated by equation 1:  Where C0 and Cf are the initial and the final concentrations of the metal ion solutions (mg/l), respectively.Table 1- Variables and Levels of the Central Composite Design Method

By using the RSM-CCD method, the optimization of the biosorption process was carried out. Table 2 shows the experimental results based on each point of the experimental design. Then, using analysis of variance (ANOVA), the obtained results were evaluated.The equation obtained for the biosorption efficiency of uranium by Citrobacter freundii is expressed as follows:Removal= +68.97045-1.43160 * C (ppm)+12.81296 * pH+1.08935 * T (0C)+2.89856 * M (g/l)+0.55737 * C (ppm) * pH+0.011459* C (ppm)* T (0C)+0.014961* C (ppm)* M (g/l)-0.32111 * pH * T (0C)-0.62783 * pH * M (g/l)-0.037633* T (0C) * M (g/l)-6.93488E-003* C (ppm)2-4.06361 * pH2Table 2- Values of Variables and Experimental Responses in the Response Surface Method.

The F-value and p-value of the proposed model are equal to 5.03 and 0.0027, respectively, reflecting the accuracy of the proposed model. This model with R2 equal to 0.81 shows that the proposed model can well predict the experimental values. The results showed that the factor of initial uranium concentration and pH statistically affect (p-value‹ 0.05) the uranium biosorption process. In contrast, temperature and sorbent dose factor (p-value› 0.05) have no statistically effect on uranium removal by Citrobacter freundii. With increasing uranium concentration from 10 mg/l to 77.5 mg/l, the removal increases from %66.5 to %99/92. Then, with increasing uranium concentration from 77.5 mg/l to 100 mg/l, the removal decreases to %97.34. On the other hand, one of the most important effective parameters in biosorption is the pH of the solution. With increasing the pH from 2 to 5, the removal decreased from %96.82 to %79.01 due to the formation of uranyl complexes (5). In this research, the results indicated that the pre-treated biomass under the conditions suggested by Design Expert software (19.84 g/l of biomass, temperature 28.92 OC, pH 2.89 and initial uranium concentration 53.71 mg/l) is able to remove approximately 99.99 percent of uranium from the contaminated area, which shows valuable potential Citrobacter freundii in bioremediation applications of uranium from contaminated wastewaters.

L-asparaginase is a significant anticancer enzyme used both in medicine and food industries. Considering the importance of L-asparaginase in different industries, finding new sources of producer strains that can produce higher levels of this enzyme with minimum side effects is preferred.

Initial screening for L-asparaginase-producing strain was performed via qualitative plate assay on modified Czapex Dox's agar medium using L-asparagine as the nitrogen source and phenol red as pH indicator. L-asparaginase activity of the fungal strain was quantified by the nesslerization method. Its identification was performed by using both morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data, including ribosomal DNA regions of ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) and LSU (large Sub-Unit) rDNA. L-asparaginase production was optimized by the One Factor-At-the-Time (OFAT) technique. The impacts of temperature, inoculum size, nitrogen, and carbon sources on the enzyme production were then evaluated.

Sarocladium kiliense IBRC-M 30453 was isolated from soil and identified as a potent enzyme-producing strain. The enzyme production was based on the extracellular mode. An optimum enzyme activity of 62.4 U ml−1 was obtained at the temperature of 25°C with inoculum size of 9% (v/v) and sucrose containing carbon and ammonium chloride as the nitrogen source. The optimization process led to 2.8-fold increase in the enzyme production.

There is a market demand for an alternate source of L-asparaginase with fewer adverse effects due to an increase in the clinical and industrial applications of this enzyme. Fungal L-asparaginase can be the proper answer to the current status of the market. However, application of statistical optimization processes and genetic manipulation have been recommended in other studies to achieve its maximum production level and improve feasibility of its industrial production.

Nowadays, heavy metals pollution is one of the most important environmental problems. Due to the high cost of common refining methods, the use of microbial biomass is recommended to clean up heavy metals. The aim of this study was the evaluation of interactions of Rhodoterula toruloides strain IR-1395 with mercury.

In this study, the growth rate and interactions of strain IR-1395 with mercury in Sucrose Broth medium were investigated and the amount of mercury accumulated was measured using the Spectrophotometry method. Then, in order to determine the best biosorption conditions, the effect of parameters such as pH, mercury concentration, biomass concentration, contact time and temperature were measured. Also, the biosorption was investigated by treated cells with 2, 4 dinitrophenol and autoclave. Finally, the biosorbent was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis.

Studies showed that the maximum growth rate of strain IR-1395 was after 36h and then it enters the stationary phase. Also, this strain was able to the biosorption and bioaccumulation (61.86%) and 10.17% biovolatilization of mercury from the medium at the concentration of 10 mg/l of chloride mercury during seven days. In study of factors affecting on the mercury biosorption, it is indicated that the optimal pH was 4. The highest biosorption was observed at 300 mg /l of mercury in 10 minutes at 15 ˚C. Mercury adsorption using treated biomass by autoclaved and 2,4 dinitrophenoltreatment has reduced than control samples. Finally, the results of the EDX confirmed the biosorption of mercury by this yeast.

By study of the various interactions of strain IR-1395 with mercury and its potential in biosorption, it was found that this strain is a valuable microorganism in mercury bioremediation processes from contaminated aquatic environments.

Mixed aerobic and anoxic conditions، in addition to substrate versatility، provide a wide range of microhabitats and niches for a large number of microbial species including bacterian yeasts and filamentous fungi. Among them، study of environmental yeast species، especially those producing secretory catabolic enzymes، can be of a great importance. After enrichment of water and soil samples and their cultivation on antibiotic supplemented YPG Agar، 46 isolates were obtained. Most of the isolates were capable of producing nucleases and sterases. Using cup plate method revealed that strains SA044 and SA006 were able to produce the greatest number of secretory enzymes. Production of at least one secretory amylase، protease، nuclease and lipase was recorded in one or both of these isolates. Production of secretory keratinase، cellulose، phytase، xylanase، chitinase and pectinase was not observed. Using molecular approach and phenotypic examinations، the isolates SA044 and SA006 were identified as Pseudozyma aphidis and Pseudozyma antarctica respectively.

Although bacteria and molds are the pioneering microorganisms for production of many enzymes, yet yeasts provide safe and reliable sources of enzymes with applications in food and feed. Single xylanase producer yeast was isolated from plant residues based on formation of transparent halo zones on xylan agar plates. The isolate showed much greater endo-1, 4-β-xylanase activity of 2.73 IU/ml after optimization of the initial extrinsic conditions. It was shown that the strain was also able to produce β-xylosidase (0.179 IU/ml) and α-arabinofuranosidase (0.063 IU/ml). Identification of the isolate was carried out and the endo-1, 4-β-xylanaseproduction by feeding the yeast cells on agro-industrial residues was optimized using one factor at a time approach. The enzyme producer strain was identified as Aureobasidiumpullulans. Based on the optimization approach, an incubation time of 48 hr at 27°C, inoculum size of 2% (v/v), initial pH value of 4 and agitation rate of 90 rpm were found to be the optimal conditions for achieving maximum yield of the enzyme. Xylan, containing agricultural residues, was evaluated as low-cost alternative carbon source for production of xylanolytic enzymes. The production of xylanase enzyme in media containing wheat bran as the sole carbon source was very similar to that of the medium containing pure beechwoodxylan. This finding indicates the feasibility of growing of A. pullulans strain SN090 on wheat bran as an alternate economical substrate in order for reducing the costs of enzyme production and using this fortified agro-industrial byproduct in formulation of animal feed.