High-sensitivity heavy metal toxicity detection by Acinetobacter baylyi C8: Association with EPS protein deficiency.

Authors

Bo Cao, Yue Yi, Beizhen Xie, Hong Liu

Published in

Bioresource technology. Pages 135994. Oct 02, 2026. Epub Oct 02, 2026.

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination remains a persistent threat to water quality and ecological safety. Although electroactive microorganism (EAM)-based sensing technologies have shown promise for toxicity monitoring, their practical application is constrained by limited sensitivity. Here, we developed a strategy to improve monitoring performance by identifying and exploiting heavy metal-sensitive EAMs from mixed microbial communities. We successfully identified and isolated Acinetobacter baylyi C8 as a highly sensitive strain by integrating metagenomic analysis of mixed EAM communities under metal stress with electrochemical plate-based isolation. In bioelectrochemical sensing systems, C8 showed current-inhibition responses to eight representative heavy metals that were approximately one order of magnitude higher than those of mixed EAMs. For Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺, good linear responses were obtained, with detection limits of 0.0157 and 0.0205 mg/L, respectively. C8 also responded consistently to binary and ternary heavy metal mixtures, while common coexisting ions caused little interference with Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ responses. Stable performance was maintained in drinking water, river water, and lake water, with deviations below 5 %. Further analyses showed that the high sensitivity of C8 was associated with low protein content in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), greater intracellular metal accumulation, and stronger oxidative, metabolic, and electron-transfer disturbances. Overall, this study provides a practical route for identifying heavy metal-sensitive EAMs from mixed communities and highlights their potential for improving bioelectrochemical monitoring of heavy metal toxicity in water environments.

PMID:
42826797
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Oct 2026.

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