Academic Journal
A novel Bacillaceae bacterium enhances phytoprotection and mercury detoxification in contaminated soils.
| Τίτλος: | A novel Bacillaceae bacterium enhances phytoprotection and mercury detoxification in contaminated soils. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Penalba-Iglesias D; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: diana.penalbaiglesias@ceu.es., Robas-Mora M; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: marina.robasmora@ceu.es., González-Reguero D; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: daniel.gonzalezreguero@ceu.es., Fernández-Pastrana VM; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: vanesa.fernandezpastrana@ceu.es., Lobo AP; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: a.probanza@ceu.es., Jiménez-Gómez PA; Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte 28660, Spain. Electronic address: pedro.jimenezgomez@ceu.es. |
| Πηγή: | Ecotoxicology and environmental safety [Ecotoxicol Environ Saf] 2026 Jul 01; Vol. 319, pp. 120261. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 21. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7805381 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1090-2414 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01476513 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ecotoxicol Environ Saf Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, Netherlands : Elsevier |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Mercury*/metabolism , Mercury*/toxicity , Soil Pollutants*/metabolism , Soil Pollutants*/toxicity , Bacillaceae*/genetics , Bacillaceae*/metabolism , Bacillaceae*/physiology, Biodegradation, Environmental ; Soil Microbiology ; Phylogeny |
| Περίληψη: | Environmental pollution due to heavy metals has become a global issue over the latest decades, affecting environmental, animal, and human health. This research conducted a phenotypic, genomic, and functional characterization of Methalobacillus radiculiexplorans C204, a bacterial strain isolated from highly mercury-contaminated soils in the Almadén mining district (Ciudad Real, Spain). The main objective was to evaluate its potential as a bioremediation agent and plant growth-promoting bacterium (PGPB) for application in the recovery of heavy metal-degraded soils. Morphological and biochemical analyses revealed typical adaptations of bacteria resistant to abiotic stress. Genomic analysis identified a broad repertoire of genes associated with PGPB functions, as well as key operons conferring resistance to mercury (merA, merB), copper (copA, copB), and zinc/cadmium (czc), along with multiple antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Additionally, species-level genomic divergence from the closest validated relatives (ANI = 83%, dDDH = 28.8%), together with AAI-based differentiation, phylogenomic placement and the partial absence of conserved signature indels characteristic of Neobacillus, support the recognition of this strain as a distinct genus-level lineage within the Bacillaceae family. In plant assays using Lupinus albus grown in soils with varying Hg concentrations, the bacterial inoculation significantly enhanced plant growth, stabilized nutritional profiles, improved physiological indicators, and reduced mercury accumulation in plant tissues by up to 93%. Positive effects were also observed on the soil microbiome, with the strain contributing to the recovery of microbial metabolic activity and the maintenance of functional diversity under toxic conditions. Overall, the results position M. radiculiexplorans C204 as a native, multifunctional bacterial strain of high biotechnological interest and a promising candidate for assisted phytoremediation strategies aimed at restoration of mercury-contaminated soils. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. Marina Robas reports financial support was provided by UE next generation founds. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: And Genomics; Bioremediation; Contaminated soils; Mercury; Phytoprotection; Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) |
| Substance Nomenclature: | FXS1BY2PGL (Mercury) 0 (Soil Pollutants) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260521 Date Completed: 20260611 Latest Revision: 20260611 |
| Update Code: | 20260611 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120261 |
| PMID: | 42166933 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1090-2414 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120261 |