ABSTRACT
Lithium (Li) is widely distributed in nature and has several industrial applications. The largest reserves of Li (over 85%) are in the so-called "triangle of lithium" that includes the Salar de Atacama in Chile, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina. Recently, the use of microorganisms in metal recovery such as copper has increased; however, there is little information about the recovery of lithium. The strain Rhodococcus sp. A5wh used in this work was previously isolated from Laguna Azul. The assays revealed that this strain was able to accumulate Li (39.52% of Li/g microbial cells in 180 min) and that it was able to grow in its presence up to 1 M. In order to understand the mechanisms implicated in Li tolerance, a proteomic approach was conducted. Comparative proteomic analyses of strain A5wh exposed and unexposed to Li reveal that 17 spots were differentially expressed. The identification of proteins was performed by MALDI-TOF/MS, and the obtained results showed that proteins involved in stress response, transcription, translations, and metabolism were expressed under Li stress. This knowledge constitutes the first proteomic approach to elucidate the strategy followed by Rhodococcus to adapt to Li.
El litio (Li) es un elemento químico con múltiples aplicaciones industriales. Es considerado uno de los minerales más ampliamente distribuidos en la naturaleza. Sus mayores reservas (más del 85%) se encuentran en el llamado «triángulo de litio¼: salar de Atacama, en Chile; salar de Uyuni, en Bolivia, y salar del Hombre Muerto, en Argentina. En los últimos años, el empleo de microorganismos en la recuperación de metales se ha visto incrementado; sin embargo, hay muy poca información sobre la recuperación de Li por esta vía. En este estudio se trabajó con Rhodococcus sp. A5wh, cepa aislada de Laguna Azul. Los ensayos revelaron que este microorganismo fue capaz de acumular Li (39,52% de Li/g de biomasa en 180 min) y de crecer en presencia de este metaloide hasta una concentración de 1 M. Para comprender los mecanismos implicados en la tolerancia al Li, se llevó a cabo el análisis proteómico comparativo de esta cepa expuesta o no expuesta al Li. Los resultados revelaron 17 spots expresados en forma diferencial. La identificación de las proteínas se realizó porMALDI-TOF/MS. Este estudio constituye el primer enfoque proteómico para dilucidar la estrategia seguida por Rhodococcus en su adaptación al estrés.
Subject(s)
Rhodococcus , Proteomics , Lithium , Argentina , Bolivia , Rhodococcus/physiology , Lakes , Chile , AltitudeABSTRACT
Lithium (Li) is widely distributed in nature and has several industrial applications. The largest reserves of Li (over 85%) are in the so-called "triangle of lithium" that includes the Salar de Atacama in Chile, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina. Recently, the use of microorganisms in metal recovery such as copper has increased; however, there is little information about the recovery of lithium. The strain Rhodococcus sp. A5wh used in this work was previously isolated from Laguna Azul. The assays revealed that this strain was able to accumulate Li (39.52% of Li/g microbial cells in 180min) and that it was able to grow in its presence up to 1M. In order to understand the mechanisms implicated in Li tolerance, a proteomic approach was conducted. Comparative proteomic analyses of strain A5wh exposed and unexposed to Li reveal that 17 spots were differentially expressed. The identification of proteins was performed by MALDI-TOF/MS, and the obtained results showed that proteins involved in stress response, transcription, translations, and metabolism were expressed under Li stress. This knowledge constitutes the first proteomic approach to elucidate the strategy followed by Rhodococcus to adapt to Li.