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Metallothionein and metal-binding peptides are small cysteine-rich proteins produced by different organisms in stress conditions. In this study, the metal-binding peptide was detected in extracellular proteins of a new Bacillus velezensis strain, isolated from metal contaminated soil, and grown on the lead-enriched medium, for the first time. The presence of sulfide peptide was assayed by two simple tests (lead sulfide and Ellman's reagent test) for preliminary, and subsequently confirmed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at media with different lead concentrations that the low-molecular-weight protein fragments (≈10 kDa) were observed while none were detected in the medium containing sodium chloride or calcium salt. The amino acids of the observed fragments were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS/MS). Also, the metal adsorption was confirmed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) by staining with chromium solution. The results showed that the putative sulfide peptide is metallothionein, which is induced in stress conditions. It was interesting that in all SDS profiles, one protein fragment (≈18 kDa) was inhibited in lead-enriched media. The data from MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis showed that this fraction was a chitin-binding protein whose production was regulated by metal contamination. It is anticipated that these two proteins regulate the toxicity of lead.

The meat industry produces a lot of waste, which contains large amounts of the organics and nutrients. Animal by-products have potential for biomaterial extraction. The use of bio-material, which can be obtained from plant sources, microorganisms, agricultural, and animal waste are nowadays favored because of their compatible, cost-effective, and low-risk for removal of pollutants, compared to chemical and physical methods. In this study, a biopolymer from meat by-product extracted by methanol-chloroform and characterized by FTIR, GC–MS, HPLC, and SDS-PAGE analyzes. The extracted biomaterial was useful in water desalination by calcium carbonate precipitation and heavy metals removal, which was confirmed by FTIR and ICP analyzes. The extracted biomaterial also has antibacterial properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli without toxicity to human blood cells, which can make it useful in industries such as its application in fish ponds.

Coal is one of the most important sources of fossil energy on earth. However, direct combustion of coal with a high sulfur content can cause various environmental problems. Other constituents of coal that can cause environmental problems include iron oxide (hematite), iron hydroxide, and silica. In this study, growing and resting cells of Rhodococcus erythropolis strains PD1, R1, and FMF, and R. qingshengii were used in heterotrophic removal of sulfur and bioleaching of iron and silica from coal. All of the mentioned strains have an ability of dibenzothiophene (DBT) desulfurization via 4-S pathway. 2-hydroxybiphenyl, sulfate, and ferric ions (Fe³⁺) were assayed by Gibb’s test, barium chloride (BaCl₂), and thiocyanate ions (SCN⁻), respectively. FTIR and XRF analyzer were used for detection of the coal bioleaching process by the selected strain of R. erythropolis (PD1). Results indicated that all strains have the ability to grow on coal as the sulfur source. Among them, strain PD1 produced the highest optical density and continued to grow even after 150-h incubation. In both growing- and resting-cells experiments, strain PD1 desulfurized coal most readily compared to other strains. Results of XRF showed that growing cells of strain PD1 had high desulfurizing ability of coal (46%) compared to resting cells in the absence of any carbon sources (24%). Growing cells of strain PD1 also leached 46% of the iron and 14% of the silicate after 7 days of incubation. Resting cells of PD1 leached 32% of the iron as determined by XRF analysis. Also, growing cells of PD1 removed most SiO₂ from coal as detected and confirmed by FTIR and XRF. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on bioleaching of iron and silica from coal by R. erythropolis strain PD1, making it a suitable candidate for coal bioremediation.

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel containing sulfur and other elements which promote environmental pollution after burning. Also the silicon impurities make the transportation of coal expensive. In this research, two isolated fungi from oil contaminated soil with accessory number KF554100 (Fusarium oxysporum FE) and KC925672 (Exophiala spinifera FM) were used for heterotrophic biological leaching of coal. The leaching were detected by FTIR, CHNS, XRF analyzer and compared with iron and sulfate released in the supernatant. The results showed that E. spinifera FM produced more acidic metabolites in growing cells, promoting the iron and sulfate ions removal while resting cells of F. oxysporum FE enhanced the removal of aromatic sulfur. XRF analysis showed that the resting cells of E. spinifera FM proceeded maximum leaching for iron and silicon (48.8, 43.2 %, respectively). CHNS analysis demonstrated that 34.21 % of sulfur leaching was due to the activities of resting cells of F. oxysporum FE. Also F. oxysporum FE removed organic sulfur more than E. spinifera FM in both growing and resting cells. FTIR data showed that both fungi had the ability to remove pyrite and quartz from coal. These data indicated that inoculations of these fungi to the coal are cheap and impurity removals were faster than autotrophic bacteria. Also due to the removal of dibenzothiophene, pyrite, and quartz, we speculated that they are excellent candidates for bioleaching of coal, oil, and gas.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of chronic liver disease such as acute and chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This virus is responsible for more than 60% of chronic hepatitis. Based on its genetic variability, HCV is classified into at least six genotypes and a series of subtypes (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5a, and 6a), while Genotype one is difficult to treat but genotypes 2 and 3 are easy to treat. Different genotypes are seen in different parts of the world. HCV genotyping is important for prediction of success of chemotherapy and progression of liver diseases. So recent studies have focused on determination of HCV genotypes. In this study, viral genomic of 86 patients (from different laboratories of Esfahan) extracted from sera were detected by nested-real time (RT) PCR. PCR products were digested with proper enzymes and studied by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The results of PCR-RFLP were as follows: 1a (52.3%), 1b (11.6%), 3a (29.1%), 2a (2.3%), 4 (4.7%). Our results showed that types 1a and 3a were the most prevalent HCV genotypes in our samples. The results of this study will guide clinicians in successful monitoring and treatment of HCV patients in our region. Keywords: Genotyping, Hepatitis C Virus, PCR, RFLP.