Prospects for fungal bioremediation of unburied waste packages from the Goiânia radiological accident.

Goiânia, the Goiás State capital, starred in 1987, where one of the largest radiological accidents in the world happened. A teletherapy machine was subtracted from a derelict radiotherapy clinic and disassembled by scavengers who distributed fragments of the 50 TBq 137CsCl source among relatives and acquaintances, enchanted by the blue shine of the substance. During the 15 days before the accident was acknowledged, contaminated recycling materials were delivered to recycling factories in four cities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the form of recycling paper bales. The contaminated bales were spotted, collected, and stored in fifty 1.6 m3 steel boxes at the interim storage facility of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN). In 2017, a check of the content was performed in a few boxes and the presence of high moisture content was observed even though the bales were dry when conditioned and the packages were kept sealed since then. The main objective of this work was to report the fungi found in the radioactive waste after they evolved for 30 years in isolation inside the waste boxes and their role in the decay of the waste. Examination of the microbiome showed the presence of nematodes and fungal communities. The fungi species isolated were Aspergillus quadricinctus, Fusarium oxysporum, Lecanicillium coprophilumi, Scedosporium boydii, Scytalidium lignicola, Xenoacremonium recifei, and Pleurostoma richardsiae. These microorganisms showed a significant capacity to digest cellulose in our trials, which could be one of the ways they survive in such a harsh environment, reducing the volume of radioactive paper waste. These metabolic abilities give us a future perspective of using these fungi in biotechnology to remediate radioactively contaminated materials, particularly cellulose-based waste.

Talaromyces amestolkiae uses organic phosphate sources for the treatment of uranium-contaminated water.

Fungi have received particular attention in regards to alternatives for bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated locales. Enzymes produced by filamentous fungi, such as phosphatases, can precipitate heavy metal ions in contaminated environments, forming metal phosphates (insoluble). Thus, this research aimed to analyze fungi for uranium biomineralization capacity. For this, Gongronella butleri, Penicillium piscarium, Rhodotorula sinensis and Talaromyces amestolkiae were evaluated. Phytate and glycerol 2-phosphate were used as the phosphate sources in the culture media at pH 3.5 and 5.5, with and without uranium ions. After 4 weeks of fungal growth, evaluated fungi were able to produce high concentrations of phosphates in the media. T. amestolkiae was the best phosphate producer, using phytate as an organic source. During fungal growth, there was no change in pH level of the culture medium. After 3 weeks of T. amestolkiae growth in medium supplemented with phytate, there was a reduction between 20 and 30% of uranium concentrations, with high precipitation of uranium and phosphate on the fungal biomass. The fungi analyzed in this research can use the phytic acid present in the medium and produce high concentrations of phosphate; which, in the environment, can assist in the heavy metal biomineralization processes, even in acidic environments. Such metabolic capabilities of fungi can be useful in decontaminating uranium-contaminated environments.

Bioremediation of water contaminated with uranium using Penicillium piscarium.

Penicillium piscarium can be indicated as promising in the treatment of sites contaminated with uranium. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the P. piscarium dead biomass in uranium biosorption. This fungus was previously isolated from a highly contaminated uranium mine located in Brazil. Biosorption tests were carried out at pH 3.5 and 5.5 in solutions contaminated with concentrations of 1 to 100 mg/L of uranium nitrate. Our results showed that the dead biomass of P. piscarium was able to remove between 93.2 and 97.5% uranium from solutions at pH 3.5, at the end of the experiment, the pH of the solution increased to values above 5.6. Regarding the experiments carried out in solutions with pH 5.5, the dead biomass of the fungus was also able to remove between 38 and 92% uranium from the solution, at the end of the experiment, the pH of the solution increased to levels above 6.5. The analysis of electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence demonstrated the high concentration of uranium precipitated on the surface of the fungal biomass. These results were impressive and demonstrate that the dead biomass of P. piscarium can be an important alternative to conventional processes for treating water contaminated with heavy metals, and we hope that these ecofriendly, inexpensive, and effective technologies be encouraged for the safe discharge of water from industrial activities.

Resistant fungi isolated from contaminated uranium mine in Brazil shows a high capacity to uptake uranium from water.

The Osamu Utsumi uranium mine occupies a 20 km2 area in the city of Caldas, which is located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Since mining activities ended at Osamu Utsumi 24 years ago, the surrounding area has become contaminated by acid effluents containing high concentrations of uranium. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the uranium bioremediation capacity of 57 fungi isolated from the mine area. In tolerance tests, 38% (22) of the fungal isolates were considered tolerant to uranium, including 10 Penicillium species. At a uranium concentration of 2000 mg L-1 48 fungi did not exhibit mycelial growth index inhibition. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) analysis showed growth of 25 fungi above a uranium concentration of 8000 mg L-1. At high uranium concentrations, some fungi (i.e., Talaromyces amestolkiae and Penicillium citrinum) showed morphological changes and pigment (melanin) production. Among the fungal isolates, those considered to be more tolerant to uranium were isolated from soil and sediment samples containing higher concentrations of heavy metal. When comparing the results of resistance/tolerance tests with those for uranium biosorption capacity, we concluded that the fungi isolated from the Osamu Utsumi mine with the best potential for uranium bioremediation were Gongronella butleri, Penicillium piscarium, Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium ludwigii, and Talaromyces amestolkiae. Biosorption tests with live fungal biomass showed that 11 species had a high potential for uranium uptake from contaminated water.

Pasteurização do leite-do-amapá in natura para controle do escurecimento enzimático / Pasteurization of the milk-of-amapá for control of enzymatic browning

O extrato do amapazeiro (Brosimum parinarioides Ducke), conhecido como leite-do-amapá, é utilizado pelas populações amazônicas como fonte alimentar e medicinal. A rápida alteração de cor do látex após extração representa a presença de enzimas como polifenoloxidase (PPO) e peroxidase (POD), escurecendo o produto in natura e desqualificando-o para comercialização. Desse modo, este trabalho objetivou a avaliação da atividade das enzimas PPO e POD em três amostras de leite-do-amapá resfriadas a 8°C, coletadas em amapazeiros em Moju (PA), e onze amostras de leite-do-amapá após o processo de pasteurização em diversos binômios tempo/temperatura e posteriormente resfriadas a 8°C, visando à otimização da conservação do produto in natura. Após resfriamento a 8°C, as amostras de leite-do-amapá in natura apresentaram diferença significativa entre os valores de atividade da enzima POD e, posteriormente observou-se elevação dessa atividade durante os períodos de tempo analisados. Como também se observou atividade da enzima PPO nas mesmas amostras, constata-se que esse tipo de conservação não foi eficiente para as enzimas POD e PPO para leite-do-amapá. As amostras pasteurizadas de leite-do-amapá, e posteriormente resfriadas, apresentaram atividades das enzimas POD e PPO significativamente diferenciadas da respectiva amostra controle (sem pasteurização), concluindo que a pasteurização nos binômios estudados, aliada ao resfriamento, foi eficaz na diminuição da atividade das enzimas peroxidase e polifenoloxidase, alcançando-se a inativação destas, podendo ser um processo potencial para conservação desse produto.

The extract of amapazeiro (Brosimum parinarioides Ducke), known as milk-of-amapá, is used by Amazonian populations as food and medicinal sources. The rapid change in color of the latex after extraction indicates the presence of enzymes such as polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD), darkening the fresh product and disqualifying it for trading. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the activity of enzymes PPO and POD from three milk-of-amapá samples collected in amapazeiros in Moju (PA) cooled to 8°C and eleven samples of milk-of-amapá after the pasteurization process in different binomials time / temperature and then cooled to 8°C in order to optimize the storage of the fresh product. After cooling to 8°C, samples from the fresh milk-of-amapá showed significant difference between the values of PER enzyme activity POD, and later there was an increase of activity during the periods analyzed. As it was also observed PPO enzyme activity in the same samples, it appears that this type of conservation was not effective for the POD and PPO enzymes from milk-of-amapá. The samples of pasteurized milk-of-Amapá, and then cooled, showed enzyme activities of PPO and POD significantly different from respective control sample (without pasteurization), what leads to a conclusion that pasteurization in binomials studied, together with the cooling, was effective in reducing the activity of peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase enzymes, reaching to the inactivation of them, being a potencial process for conservation of this product.