Yeasts from the Maritime Antarctic: tools for industry and bioremediation

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Bezus, Brenda, Garmendia, Gabriela, Vero, Silvana, Cavalitto, Sebastián, Cavello, Ivana Alejandra
• Other Authors: Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2021
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Science; King George Island
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102021000420; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102021000420

Abstract We isolated 32 yeasts from King George Island, which we then identified and characterized. Twenty-six belonged to Basidiomycota among the genera Naganishia , Holtermaniella , Vishniacozyma , Phenoliferia , Mrakia and Cystobasidium , and only six were Ascomycota of the genera Metschnikowia and Debaryomyces . Thirteen were psychrophiles, while 19 were psychrotolerant. Certain isolates exhibited a high tolerance to NaCl (3.5 M), while most tolerated Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ and Li + . Cu 2+ and Cd 2+ , however, inhibited the growth of most of the isolates. We assessed a bioprospecting of extracellular enzymes and their ability to biodegrade or bioaccumulate textile dyes. β-Glucosidases (59%) and esterases (53%) were the main extracellular enzymes detected. A minor proportion of the yeasts produced pectinases and xylanases; only psychrophiles produced proteases. Vishniacozyma , Naganishia , Phenoliferia and Mrakia were the richest genera in terms of enzyme production. Greater than 70% of the isolates decolourized solid medium supplemented with various dyes at 4°C and 20°C. Isolates belonging to the genera Vishniacozyma , Cystobasidium , Mrakia and Phenoliferia seem to have potential for textile dye bio-decolourization. The results demonstrated that yeasts collected from the Maritime Antarctic are a potential source of new enzymes of biotechnological interest, and that certain isolates could potentially be considered in the design of textile wastewater decolourizations.