Biophysical remediation of vanadium by <em>Shewanella </em> sp. E1

Abstract

Removal of vanadium toxic levels from industrial wastewater is an urgent demand before releasing to the environment. In this study <em>, Shewanella </em> sp. strain E1, an isolate of industrial wastewater body, Riyadh city, KSA, was subjected to molecular identification using partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA and <em>gyrB</em> genes. This bacterium is resistant to vanadium pentoxide up to 15 mg/l and more. The Plackett-Burman statistical design was used for near optimum vanadium biophysical removal conditions and this target was achieved giving that the positive levels of vanadium concentration (a significant factor), pH and cell weight, and the negative levels of solution volume (a significant factor), rotation rate, contact time, and temperature. Protein electrophoresis of active cells in the presence of 15 mg/l vanadium pentoxide showed at least 16 different intracellular proteins. The study suggest that <em>Shewanella </em> sp. E1 can be used for vanadium removal from industrial wastewater to increase its water quality before release to the environment.