Integrated nitrate bioremediation and microbial risk mitigation using Bacillus pacificus.

Authors

Nitish Venkateswarlu Mogili, Dhruv Yogeshkumar Rana, Sainikesh Padmanabhuni, Venkata Sai Gundlapally, Vaibhav Singh, Munnangi Jason Harshith, Mood Narasimha Rao, Juhi Saxena

Published in

Biodegradation. Volume 37. Issue 4. Aug 07, 2026. Epub Aug 07, 2026.

Abstract

The release of nitrate-rich effluents and pathogens from domestic and industrial sources into drinking water sources poses a significant environmental and public health challenge. The present study evaluates the multifunctional potential of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus pacificus (Accession No. PV206819) as a sustainable bioagent for nitrate remediation and antimicrobial risk reduction within a circular bioeconomy framework. The nitrate removal efficiency corresponds to 65.8% at 27 °C and 85.7% at 37 °C, respectively. Transient accumulation of nitrite ions indicates the probable occurrence of the heterotrophic denitrification pathway. The application of bacteria for the denitrification of fertilizer wastewater resulted in a nitrate removal efficiency of 67%. To promote resource recovery, biomass recovered after treatment was utilized for the green synthesis of silver oxide nanoparticles (B-Ag₂ONPs). The biosynthesized nanoparticles have unique surface plasmon resonance and were roughly spherical, polydisperse, and 15-20 nm in size. DLS measurement showed a size of 35.74 nm, and the surface charge was -2.17 mV. FTIR analyses confirmed the role of biological functional groups involved in capping and synthesis. B-Ag₂ONPs exhibited significant antibacterial activity against a Gram-negative (E. coli ATCC 25922) indicator microorganism with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 17.52 mg/L. Phytotoxicity assessment indicated reduced toxicity of treated wastewater on wheat seeds (Triticum aestivum L.). Overall, this integrated bioprocess offers a sustainable solution for nitrate and microbial contamination, supporting environmental protection and public health in line with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

PMID:
42567991
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.