Wautersiella enshiensis sp. nov. - selenite-reducing bacterium isolated from a selenium-mining area in Enshi, China

摘要

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human beings and is required for the synthesis of the essential amino acid selenocysteine for bacteria but it can be poisonous at high concentrations (Jong et al., 2015). A previous study revealed that a Se-mine drainage area in Enshi, Hubei contained Se concentrations as high as 20-500 mg/kg (DW) in soil/sediment (Yuan et al., 2013), but until now no Se-tolerant bacteria were reported from the sampling sites. This study focused on identifying and isolating Se-tolerant bacteria in the Se-mining area in Enshi.