Urease-producing bacteria are abundant in soils, which can precipitate calcium carbonate nanocrystals by enzymatic hydrolysis of urea in the presence of calcium ions. This process is known as microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP), and it has received much attention in recent years as an eco-friendly technology. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to isolate local extremophile bacterial strains capable of producing calcium carbonate. Among a total of 44 isolated urease-producing strains from sandy soils, one strain with a high level of urease activity (8.16 U/ml) and production of a large amount of calcium carbonate (410 mg/100 ml) was selected for further investigation. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that this strain had 99.66% sequence identity to Bhargavaea cecembensis. The SEM-EDX and XRD analyses indicated that irregular vaterite and aggregated nanocalcite were the dominant polymorphs produced by this strain. The size of these nanocalcite crystals ranged between 25 and 42 nm. The selected strain showed high levels of tolerance to different conditions of temperature, pH, and salinity. This strain grows at high temperatures up to 50 °C, alkaline pH (9-11), and high concentrations of NaCl (20-25% w/v). Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated 96% cell viability of the isolated strain after desiccation stress. Bhargavaea was first reported in 2009 as a new genus, and it belongs to the Firmicutes. So far, there has been no report on its MICP potential. The present study is the first one to report nanocrystal calcium carbonate precipitation in polyextremophile Bhargavaea cecembensis, which makes it a suitable candidate for bio-cementation under extreme circumstances.
Keywords: Bhargavaea cecembensis; Nanocalcite; Polyextremophile; Precipitation.
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