Accumulation and Transformation of Selenite by Bacteria in Biologically Utilisable Form

Abstract

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells accumulate some heavy metals, storing and incorporating them in metalloproteins. This process was studied in nine bacterial strains of Escherichia coli, four strains of Acetobacter pasteurianus and eighteen genera of Lactobacillus bacteria. The results showed the ability of the studied strains to grow at various concentrations of selenium. For the E. coli, A. pasteurianus and Lactobacillus strains, the concentrations ranges were 1.7 - 17.2, 17.2 - 56.8 and 8.6 - 43 g.l-1 of selenium, respectively.