Antimony (Sb), a global and priority controlled pollutant, causes severe environmental issues. Bioremediation by microbial communities containing sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is considered to be among the safest, economical, and environmentally friendly methods to remove Sb from wastewater. However, the roles of SRB species in these communities remain uncertain, and pure cultures of bacteria that may be highly efficient have not yet been developed for Sb removal. In this study, an Sb tolerant community was enriched from municipal sludge, and molecular ecological analysis showed that Escherichia (40%) and Desulfovibrio (15%) were the dominant bacteria. Further isolation and identification showed that the enriched SRB strains were closely related to Cupidesulfovibrio oxamicus, based on the molecular analyses of 16S rRNA and dsrB genes. Among them, a strain named SRB49 exhibited the highest activity in removal of Sb(V). SRB49 was able to remove 95% of Sb(V) at a concentration of 100 mg/L within 48 h under optimum conditions: a temperature of 37–40 °C, an initial pH value of 8, 4 mM of sulfate, and an initial redox potential of 145–229 mV. SEM-EDX analysis showed that SRB49 did not adsorb Sb(V) but reduced and precipitated Sb(V) via the formation of Sb2S3. The results demonstrated the potential roles that pure cultures of SRB species may play in Sb removal and the use of Sb-tolerant SRB strains for Sb remediation.

中文翻译：

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城市污泥中耐锑硫酸盐还原菌去除废水中的锑

锑 (Sb) 是一种全球优先受控污染物，会导致严重的环境问题。通过含有硫酸盐还原菌 (SRB) 的微生物群落进行生物修复被认为是从废水中去除 Sb 的最安全、经济和环保的方法之一。然而，SRB 物种在这些群落中的作用仍然不确定，并且尚未开发出可能高效的纯细菌培养物来去除 Sb。在这项研究中，从市政污泥中富集了一个耐锑群落，分子生态学分析表明，大肠杆菌（40%）和脱硫弧菌（15%）是优势菌。进一步分离鉴定表明，富集的SRB菌株与Cupidesulfovibrio oxamicus密切相关，基于16S rRNA和dsrB基因的分子分析。他们之中，一个名为 SRB49 的菌株在去除 Sb(V) 方面表现出最高的活性。在最佳条件下，SRB49 能够在 48 小时内去除 95% 浓度为 100 mg/L 的 Sb(V)：温度 37-40 °C，初始 pH 值 8，硫酸盐 4 mM，以及初始氧化还原电位为 145-229 mV。SEM-EDX 分析表明，SRB49 不吸附 Sb(V)，而是通过 Sb2S3 的形成还原和沉淀 Sb(V)。结果证明了 SRB 物种的纯培养物可能在 Sb 去除和使用 Sb 耐受 SRB 菌株进行 Sb 修复中发挥的潜在作用。初始氧化还原电位为 145-229 mV。SEM-EDX 分析表明，SRB49 不吸附 Sb(V)，而是通过 Sb2S3 的形成还原和沉淀 Sb(V)。结果证明了 SRB 物种的纯培养物可能在 Sb 去除和使用 Sb 耐受 SRB 菌株进行 Sb 修复中发挥的潜在作用。初始氧化还原电位为 145-229 mV。SEM-EDX 分析表明，SRB49 不吸附 Sb(V)，而是通过 Sb2S3 的形成还原和沉淀 Sb(V)。结果证明了 SRB 物种的纯培养物可能在 Sb 去除和使用 Sb 耐受 SRB 菌株进行 Sb 修复中发挥的潜在作用。