Stress and toxicity of metal in photosynthetic bacteria : multi-scale study of the effects and the targets of metal ions and nanoparticles

Abstract

The extensive use of metal ions in industry and agriculture represents a serious threat to the environment and to all living being because of the acute toxicity of these ions. However, it can also be a promising tool, silver ions and nanoparticles are some of the most widely used metals in various industrial and health applications. The antimicrobial effect of these nanoparticles is in part related to the released Ag+ ions and their ability to interact with bacterial membranes. The goal of this project is to study the interaction between biological subject (the bacteria) and physical objects (metals), and more specifically to understand the impact of metals in different forms (ions, nanoparticles and nanostructures) on the growth of the bacterial cells using different approaches : physiology, biochemistry, genetics and cell biology. We used as biological models, principally the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax (R.) gelatinosus, but also Escherichia coli; and for physical objects, we used silver as main metal but also other metals (copper, cadmium and nickel) for comparison. The main objectives are: 1- to study the impact and the mechanisms of toxicity of these metallic ions/NPs on the bacterial respiratory and photosynthesis metabolisms. 2- To identify the bacterial genes involved in response to excess silver. 3- To study the internalization and interaction of metals ions and NPs within biological membranes. The results showed that we were able to identify, both in vitro and in vivo, specific targets of Ag+ and Cu2+ ions within the membrane of bacteria. This include complexes involved in photosynthesis, but also complexes involved in respiration. Ag+ and Cu2+ were shown to specifically target a solvent exposed bacteriochlorophyll in the light harvesting antennae of the photosystem. This also presents, in our knowledge, the first direct evidence of silver ions damages to membrane proteins involved in these metabolisms. We also carried out a microscopy (AFM/ SEM) comparative study of the effect of Ag+ ions or Ag-NPs synthesized in our laboratory, on the bacterial cell morphology