Isolation of a selenite-reducing and cadmium-resistant bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain RB for microbial synthesis of CdSe nanoparticles

Bacteria capable of synthesizing CdSe from selenite and cadmium ion were enriched from a soil sample. After repeated transfer of the soil-derived bacterial cultures to a new medium containing selenite and cadmium ion 42 times (during 360 days), an enrichment culture that can simultaneously remove selenite and cadmium ion (1 mM each) from the liquid phase was obtained. The culture's color became reddish-brown, indicating CdSe nanoparticle production, as confirmed by energy-dispersive x-ray spectra (EDS). As a result of isolation operations, the bacterium that was the most responsible for synthesizing CdSe, named Pseudomonas sp. RB, was obtained. Transmission electron microscopy and EDS revealed that this strain accumulated nanoparticles (10–20 nm) consisting of selenium and cadmium inside and on the cells when cultivated in the same medium for the enrichment culture. This report is the first describing isolation of a selenite-reducing and cadmium-resistant bacterium. It is useful for CdSe nanoparticle synthesis in the simple one-vessel operation.