A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species
Understanding how organisms interact with elements used in technical applications is essential because of the increasing prevalence of these elements in the environment. The unicellular eukaryote ciliate Tetrahymena can tolerate high concentrations of cytotoxic metals and is known to have developed...
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325009492 |
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| author | Jana Kohl-Chandramohan Michael Schweikert Tobias Junginger Ingo Hartenbach Marie-Louise Lemloh |
| author_facet | Jana Kohl-Chandramohan Michael Schweikert Tobias Junginger Ingo Hartenbach Marie-Louise Lemloh |
| author_sort | Jana Kohl-Chandramohan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding how organisms interact with elements used in technical applications is essential because of the increasing prevalence of these elements in the environment. The unicellular eukaryote ciliate Tetrahymena can tolerate high concentrations of cytotoxic metals and is known to have developed several detoxification strategies, in particular the intracellular bioaccumulation. In this study, we systematically investigated the process of tolerance and intracellular bioaccumulation of several metals (La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Fe, and Al) in three species of the ciliate Tetrahymena (T. pyriformis, T. thermophila, and T. pigmentosa). In all three species and for all tested elements, treatment of the cells with dissolved metals in an organic growth medium leads to an intracellular bioaccumulation and formation of biogenic metal-containing particles within the food vacuoles of the cells. Stable particles are excreted into the surrounding medium within 2 h. The particles have a species-dependent diameter between 2.4 and 3.2 µm and consist of the respective added metal La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Fe, or Al together with the elements C, O, P, Na, Mg, K, and Ca. Intracellular bioaccumulation is associated with a 26–87 % depletion of the rare earth element concentrations in the medium within 48 h. The understanding of microbial bioaccumulation pathways is a promising approach for the development of new bio-inspired strategies for recycling or remediation applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5d78c9d7d37d482aa3ac6aa4e850afbf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0147-6513 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety |
| spelling | doaj-art-5d78c9d7d37d482aa3ac6aa4e850afbf2025-08-20T03:41:50ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-09-0130211860410.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118604A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena speciesJana Kohl-Chandramohan0Michael Schweikert1Tobias Junginger2Ingo Hartenbach3Marie-Louise Lemloh4University of Stuttgart, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Stuttgart 70569, GermanyUniversity of Stuttgart, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany; University of Stuttgart, SRF Advanced Materials Innovation and Characterization (AMICA), Stuttgart 70569, GermanyUniversity of Stuttgart, Institute for Modelling Hydraulic and Environmental Systems, Research Facility for Subsurface Remediation (VEGAS), Stuttgart 70569, GermanyUniversity of Stuttgart, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Stuttgart 70569, GermanyUniversity of Stuttgart, SRF Advanced Materials Innovation and Characterization (AMICA), Stuttgart 70569, Germany; University of Stuttgart, Materials Testing Institute, Stuttgart 70569, Germany; Corresponding author at: University of Stuttgart, SRF Advanced Materials Innovation and Characterization (AMICA), Stuttgart 70569, Germany.Understanding how organisms interact with elements used in technical applications is essential because of the increasing prevalence of these elements in the environment. The unicellular eukaryote ciliate Tetrahymena can tolerate high concentrations of cytotoxic metals and is known to have developed several detoxification strategies, in particular the intracellular bioaccumulation. In this study, we systematically investigated the process of tolerance and intracellular bioaccumulation of several metals (La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Fe, and Al) in three species of the ciliate Tetrahymena (T. pyriformis, T. thermophila, and T. pigmentosa). In all three species and for all tested elements, treatment of the cells with dissolved metals in an organic growth medium leads to an intracellular bioaccumulation and formation of biogenic metal-containing particles within the food vacuoles of the cells. Stable particles are excreted into the surrounding medium within 2 h. The particles have a species-dependent diameter between 2.4 and 3.2 µm and consist of the respective added metal La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Fe, or Al together with the elements C, O, P, Na, Mg, K, and Ca. Intracellular bioaccumulation is associated with a 26–87 % depletion of the rare earth element concentrations in the medium within 48 h. The understanding of microbial bioaccumulation pathways is a promising approach for the development of new bio-inspired strategies for recycling or remediation applications.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325009492BioaccumulationTetrahymenaRare earth elementHeavy metal depletionMetal-containing particle |
| spellingShingle | Jana Kohl-Chandramohan Michael Schweikert Tobias Junginger Ingo Hartenbach Marie-Louise Lemloh A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Bioaccumulation Tetrahymena Rare earth element Heavy metal depletion Metal-containing particle |
| title | A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species |
| title_full | A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species |
| title_fullStr | A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species |
| title_full_unstemmed | A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species |
| title_short | A common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements, iron, and aluminium in three Tetrahymena species |
| title_sort | common process of bioaccumulation of rare earth elements iron and aluminium in three tetrahymena species |
| topic | Bioaccumulation Tetrahymena Rare earth element Heavy metal depletion Metal-containing particle |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325009492 |
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