Speeding up bioproduction of selenium nanoparticles by using Vibrio natriegens as microbial factory

Selenium and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are extensively used in biomedicine, electronics and some other industrial applications. The bioproduction of SeNPs is gaining interest as a green method to manufacture these biotechnologically relevant products. Several microorganisms have been used for the production of SeNPs either under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Vibrio natriegens is a non-pathogenic fast-growing bacterium, easily cultured in different carbon sources and that has recently been engineered for easy genetic manipulation in the laboratory. Here we report that V. natriegens was able to perfectly grow aerobically in the presence of selenite concentrations up to 15 mM with a significant survival still observed at concentrations as high as 100 mM selenite. Electron microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy analyses demonstrate that V. natriegens cells growing aerobically in selenite-containing LB medium at 30 °C produced spherical electron-dense SeNPs whose size ranged from 100-400 nm. Selenite reduction just started at the beginning of the exponential growth phase and the release of SeNPs was observed after cell lysis. Remarkably, V. natriegens produced SeNPs faster than other described microorganisms that were proposed as model bioreactors for SeNPs production. Thus, the fast-growing V. natriegens bacterium becomes a suitable biocatalyst for bioremediation of selenite and for speeding-up the eco-friendly synthesis of SeNPs.