A newly developed consortium with a highly efficient thiocyanate degradation capacity: A comprehensive investigation of the degradation and detoxification potential. (1st February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xiao, Xiaoshuang; An, Xuejiao; Jiang, Yuling; Wang, Liuwei; Li, Zelin; Lai, Fenju; Zhang, Qinghua
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 318(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02-01
• Subjects: Thiocyanate -- Consortium -- Degradation -- Detoxification -- High-throughput sequencing -- Toxicologic test; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120878
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Thiocyanate-containing wastewater harms ecosystems and can cause serious damage to animals and plants, so it is urgent to treat it effectively. In this study, a new efficient thiocyanate-degrading consortium was developed and its degradation characteristics were studied. It was found that up to 154.64 mM thiocyanate could be completely degraded by this consortium over 6 days of incubation, with a maximum degradation rate of 1.53 mM h −1 . High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that Thiobacillus (77.78%) was the predominant thiocyanate-degrading bacterial genus. Plant toxicology tests showed that the germination index of mung bean and rice seeds cultured with media obtained after thiocyanate degradation by the consortium increased by 94% and 84.83%, respectively, compared with the control group without thiocyanate degradation. Cytotoxicity tests showed that thiocyanate without degradation significantly decreased the Neuro-2a cell activity and mitochondrial membrane potential; induced reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis; increased the cellular Ca 2+ concentration; and damaged the cell nucleus and DNA. Furthermore, the thiocyanate degradation products produced the consortium were almost totally non-toxic, revealing the same characteristics as those of the control using distilled water. This study shows that the consortium has a high degradation efficiency and detoxification characteristics, as well as great application potential in bioremediation of industrial thiocyanate-containing wastewater. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A new consortium with an efficient thiocyanate-degrading ability was enriched. The consortium can degrade up to 154.64 mM thiocyanate with a V max of 1.53 mM h −1 The toxic thiocyanate action mechanism was revealed by cytotoxicity tests. Thiocyanate disrupts the homeostasis of cellular physiological indicators. Thiocyanate degradation by the consortium could eliminate its toxicity.