Examinando por Autor "Castro Tena, Lucero Katherine"

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Bioprospecting and exploration of extremophilic enzymes in bioremediation of wastewater polluted
(CRC Press, 2024-04-12) Hualpa Cutipa, Edwin; Solorzano Acosta, Andi; Alfaro Cancino, Milagros Estefani; Arquíñego Zárate, Fiorella Maité; Julca Santur, Nikol Gianella; Mayhua, María José; Castro Tena, Lucero Katherine
Water, covering three-quarters of the Earth, is crucial for life and ecosystems and is also essential in industrial processes. However, most aquatic environments are polluted due to the massive discharge of wastewater with high pollutant loads, which threatens ecosystem health. To mitigate this environmental impact, humans have tried various physical and chemical strategies, but increased wastewater and reagents have the disadvantage of generating more waste, making it an environmentally unsustainable problem. Governments are now focusing on integrating living organisms or biological treatments to reduce or mitigate pollutants in contaminated matrices. Microbial biodiversity is being studied through bioprospecting strategies and the search for new microorganisms capable of biodegrading pollutants. Extremophilic microbes, which have undergone evolutionary processes and exhibited adaptive traits, have the potential to transform harmful contaminants into beneficial resources and improve their tolerance mechanisms to complex pollutants. This chapter aims to provide updated information on sustainable wastewater bioremediation processes using extremophilic microorganisms and their enzymes, considering their properties, characteristics, stability, and biodegradation capacity. Genetic modifications and editions are also discussed to obtain biomolecules with greater versatility and efficacy
Potential of extremophilic and native microbial consortia in the bioleaching of heavy metals on mining process
(CRC Press, 2024-04-12) Hualpa Cutipa, Edwin; Solorzano Acosta, Richard Andi; Huayllacayan Mallqui, Jorge Johnny; Aguirre Catalan, Heidy Mishey; León Chacón, Andrea; Castro Tena, Lucero Katherine
Mining is a significant economic activity in many countries, resulting in the release of wastewater with high concentrations of heavy metals and other harmful compounds. Leaching is a treatment technique for these effluents, allowing the recovery of precious metals through solubilization, but it generates large amounts of tailings and waste effluents. Microbial leaching (bioleaching) is a biological strategy where microbes are used to solubilize precious metals in insoluble substrates through microbial metabolism or metabolic products. Extremophilic microorganisms, particularly those formed by indigenous consortia (bacteria and fungi), have versatile metabolic traits that are highly valued. Some heterotrophic bacteria adapt to acid environments and high concentrations of heavy metals as a defense mechanism against heavy metals. The pH is a fundamental parameter of bioleaching, and for efficient bioleaching, microbial consortia composed of mixed cultures, mainly extremophilic microbes, are proposed due to their poly-resistance to a reduced pH, likely to favor the recovery of metal. This chapter addresses the main characteristics of extremophilic microorganisms forming native microbial consortia and their biotechnological potential in the bioleaching of heavy metal-rich mining effluents. The aim is to highlight advanced strategies or methods for studying this group of microorganisms, considering their enormous potential as a priceless source of compounds of interest for various fields such as medicine, agriculture, and mining.