Engineering the cell wall reactive groups of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria by culture strategy for heavy metal removal

This research delved into the effects of nutrient limitation on the level of sporulation and the cadmium adsorption capacity of the bacterium Bacillus sp. isolated from the rhizosphere of endemic soils in the Region of Valparaiso, Chile. The bacteria were subjected to nitrogen limitation in fed-batch mode and were compared to bacteria grown in batch culture without nutrient limitation. The cultures were carried out in a 3 L bioreactor with an external nitrogen supply of ammonium at a flow of 0.123 L h⁻¹. The specific maximum growth rate was 0.42 h⁻¹ in batch and 0.45 h⁻¹ in the exponential phase of the fed-batch.

The analysis of sporulation did not show any significant difference between the biomass coming from the fed-batch and batch cultures.

It was found that maximum cadmium adsorption capacity varied with culture strategy. The dry biomass grown without nutrient limitation exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity for cadmium of 65.0 mg_Cd g⁻¹_biomass. Conversely, the limited biomass achieved a lower cadmium adsorption capacity of approximately 36.0 mg_Cd g⁻¹_biomass. FTIR analysis showed that nitrogen limitation induced changes in the composition of the outer cell wall, specifically an increase of deacetlylated polysaccharides, reducing the relative amount of secondary amines and proteins from the peptidoglycan matrix. Amino groups from acetylated polysaccharides and proteins have been associated elsewhere with greater cadmium affinity, which could explain the poor results obtained with the nitrogen-restricted biomass. This study shows that new physiological states displaying different adsorption capabilities were effectively obtained by engineering the cell coverage of the bacteria using varying culture strategies. The fed-batch culture proved to be a valuable tool for studying PGPR strains for biosorption and other applications. Exploring diverse nutrient limitations and other pollutants in this bacterium and other members of the PGPR family offer great opportunities to tailor biosorption strategies based on specific conditions, ultimately contributing to sustainable environmental solutions.