Arsenite tolerance and removal potential of the indigenous halophilic bacterium, Halomonas elongata SEK2

The indigenous halophilic arsenite-resistant bacterium Halomonas elongata strain SEK2 isolated from the high saline soil of Malek Mohammad hole, Lut Desert, Iran, could tolerate high concentrations of arsenate (As⁵⁺) and arsenite (As³⁺) up to 800 and 40 mM in the SW-10 agar medium, respectively. The isolated strain was able to tolerate considerable concentrations of other toxic heavy metals and oxyanions, including Cadmium (Cd²⁺), Chromate (Cr⁶⁺), lead (Pb²⁺), and selenite (Se⁴⁺), regarding the high salinity of the culture media (with a total salt concentration of 10% (w/v)), the tolerance potential of the isolate SEK2 was unprecedented. The bioremoval potential of the isolate SEK2 was examined through the Silver diethyldithiocarbamate (SDDC) method and demonstrated that the strain SEK2 could remove 60% of arsenite from arsenite-containing growth medium after 48 h of incubation without converting it to arsenate. The arsenite adsorption or uptake by the halophilic bacterium was investigated and substantiated through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. Furthermore, Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis revealed ultra-structural alterations in the presence of arsenite that could be attributed to intracellular accumulation of arsenite by the bacterial cell. Genome sequencing analysis revealed the presence of arsenite resistance as well as other heavy metals/oxyanion resistance genes in the genome of this bacterial strain. Therefore, Halomonas elongata strain SEK2 was identified as an arsenite-resistant halophilic bacterium for the first time that could be used for arsenite bioremediation in saline arsenite-polluted environments.