Articolo in rivista, 2022, ENG, 10.1007/s43630-021-00116-9

The periodic table of photosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria: intact cell-metal ions interactions

Grattieri, Matteo; Labarile, Rossella; Buscemi, Gabriella; Trotta, Massimo

Univ Bari Aldo Moro; CNR

Photosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNB) have been widely utilized as model organisms to study bacterial photosynthesis. More recently, the remarkable resistance of these microorganisms to several metals ions called particular interest. As a result, several research efforts were directed toward clarifying the interactions of metal ions with PNB. The mechanisms of metal ions active uptake and bioabsorption have been studied in detail, unveiling that PNB enable harvesting and removing various toxic ions, thus fostering applications in environmental remediation. Herein, we present the most important achievements in the understanding of intact cell-metal ions interactions and the approaches utilized to study such processes. Following, the application of PNB-metal ions interactions toward metal removal from contaminated environments is presented. Finally, the possible coupling of PNB with abiotic electrodes to obtain biohybrid electrochemical systems is proposed as a sustainable pathway to tune and enhance metal removal and monitoring.

Photochemical & photobiological sciences (Print) 21 (1), pp. 101–111

Keywords

Heavy metals, Purple bacteria, Metal ions removal, Environmental monitoring, Biohybrid systems, Photobioelectrochemistry, Bioremediation

CNR authors

Buscemi Gabriella, Grattieri Matteo, Labarile Rossella, Trotta Massimo

CNR institutes

IPCF – Istituto per i processi chimico-fisici