CHARACTERIZATION OF SERPENTINE BACTERIA: BIOFILM PRODUCTION AND HEAVY METAL TOLERANCE

Authors

Mujo Hasanovic¹ , Tatjana Vojinović² , Jovana Jotanović² , Esma Fočak² , Anesa Ahatović Hajro¹ , Adaleta Durmić-Pašić¹

1. University of Sarajevo - Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
2. University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Science

Conference / event

2nd European Symposium on Phytochemicals in Medicine and Food, June 2024 (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Poster summary

Serpentine soils are rich in heavy metals and low in micronutrients, challenging for many microbes. This study investigated the heavy metal tolerance and biofilm production of 24 serpentine bacterial isolates from Robinia pseudoacacia L., obtained from the University of Sarajevo. Isolates were tested on agar plates with 100 mg/L and 200 mg/L of Ni, Cu, and Co, and biofilm production was measured using a modified Microtiter plate assay. All rhizospheric isolates tolerated 100 mg/L of metals, but none tolerated 200 mg/L Cu, and only one isolate failed to grow at 200 mg/L Ni. Endophytic isolates showed less metal tolerance. Rhizospheric bacteria consistently produced biofilms, while only three endophytic isolates did. Pseudomonas isolates demonstrated strong metal tolerance and biofilm production, unlike Bacillus, Brevibacillus, and Lysinibacillus endophytes. Biofilm production is vital for biotechnological applications, with rhizospheric bacteria showing greater potential due to their stress resilience and biofilm-forming abilities.

Keywords

Serpentine bacteria, Heavy-metal resistance, Biofilm production, Serpentine soil

Research areas

Biological Sciences, Microbiology, Environmental Sciences

References

No data provided

Funding

1. This research was supported by Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth, Canton Sarajevo (No. 27-02-35-37080-7/23)

Supplemental files

No data provided

Additional information

Competing interests

No competing interests were disclosed.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and / or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Creative Commons license

Copyright © 2024 Hasanovic et al. This is an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.