Water quality in the Brazilian semi-arid: bioprospecting of Chromobacterium violaceum for metal bioremediation

Abstract

The environmental impacts from metal accumulation cause disorders that often hinder recovery and control of these locations. This study evaluated the physical-chemical and microbiological parameters of water quality in a reservoir located in semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (near a mining iron industry), as well as bioprospecting Chromobacterium violaceum (wild and ATCC 12472 strain) as a tool for metal bioremediation, through the investigation, comparison and inferential analysis of their phenotypic resistance patterns to iron, manganese and zinc metals in different exposure times, concentrations and interactions. The physicochemical water analysis revealed acceptable parameters, except the pH of the fifth site. In this site it was isolated C. violaceum. Both C. violaceum strains were resistant to metals tested in different exposure intervals, concentrations and interactions (p