Brief description of the project
(Project’s duration is 36 months, 2021-2023)
Project title: ИРН AP 09259724 «Optimization of Miscanthus x giganteus (Miscanthus giant) productivity and phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils using PGPR».
In Kazakhstan, as in many other countries of the world, high rates of industrial and agricultural development have led to land pollution by heavy metals, which is a serious environmental problem due to their toxicity and negative impact on human health and the environment. The accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils and entering the food chain is becoming a serious threat to food security.
The development of an innovative strategy for the restoration of soils contaminated with heavy metals is an important and urgent task. Phytoremediation is based on the synergistic interaction of plants and related microorganisms and is one of the promising approaches to soil cleaning. One of the most ecologically and economically beneficial phytoremediation agents are the bioenergetic plants of the species Miscanthus × giganteus Greefet Deu (giant miscanthus), which successfully grows on marginal soils for up to 20-25 years and is resistant to pollution. However, the yield of a plant on marginal soils is small, the task is to increase it, which is achieved by agronomic methods, the introduction of various additives, or by treatment with drugs that stimulate plant growth.
Many microorganisms living in the root zone of plants and belonging to the group of plant growth stimulating rhizobacteria (PGPR) are resistant to pollutants, participate in their transformation processes in the rhizosphere, promote their phytoaccumulation and, at the same time, have a positive effect on the growth of remediating plants. However, the specific mechanisms of adaptation of plant-microbial symbioses to toxic concentrations of metals and the integration of system components under stressful conditions have been studied extremely insufficiently. In addition, studies of the synergistic interaction of plants and microorganisms with their simultaneous use for soil cleaning was carried out mainly in controlled vegetation experiments, while in situ experiments are practically not described in the literature. In this regard, the creation of the first biological product based on PGPR to increase the productivity of M. xgiganteus biomass when the plant is used in the field for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals is an extremely important task, while the introduction of a biological product into the system will increase the controllability of the phytoremediation process. The proposed approach can be successfully applied to form a strategy for the development of bioenergy using bioenergetic plants.
Project goal: to develop an effective technology for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals by increasing the productivity of the bioenergetic plant-phytoremediant M. x giganteus using a biological product that stimulates the growth of rhizobacteria (PGPR), which will be developed in this study.
Expected results: creation of a biological product based on PGPR to increase the productivity of Miscanthus x giganteus biomass and the efficiency of phytoremediation of soil contaminated with heavy metals.
Scientific Supervisor of the project:
Nurzhanova Asil Arunovna – leading research scientist at the Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory of the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Doctor of Biological Sciences with a degree in genetics, physiology and biochemistry of plants, Professor with a degree in biology. H-index 6. SCOPUS ID: 15029299700. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4811-0164. Researcher ID: M-6739-2015.
She is the head of fundamental and applied research grants of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ISCT and co-director co-director of the NATO International project. Author and co-author of 6 monographs and recommendations, 8 patents and more than 200 articles in international and republican publications, including peer-reviewed journals included in the Thomson Reuters and Scopus databases.
Research group:
Berzhanova Ramza — Candidate of Biological Sciences in Microbiology, as/professor. H-index 2. ORCID -0000-0001-9251-4452. SCOPUS ID: 56507457600
She is participant in fundamental and applied research programs of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Has publications in national journals of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Mamirova A. – PhD student, Al-Farabi KazNU, master in Biotechnology, H-index 2. Scopus ID — 57212150420; ORCID — 0000-0002-4274-5081.
Nurmagambetova A. – Master in Biology, Junior Research Fellow of the Institute
Zhumasheva Zh. – Master in Ecology, Junior Research Fellow of the Institute,
List of publications of the project’s participants (2019-2020)
Nurzhanova A., Pidlisnyuk V, Abit K., Nurzhanov Ch., Kenessov B., Stefanovska T., Erickson L. Comparative assessment of using Miscanthus × giganteus for remediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals: a case of military and mining sites // Environmental Science and Pollution Research. – 2019. – Vol. 26. – P.13320-13333.
Web science. Q 2, Impact Factor: 3.16. doi: 10.1007/s11356-019-04707-z.
Divine N. Tarla, Larry E. Erickson, Ganga M. Hettiarachchi, Sixtus I. Amadi, Madhubhashini Galkaduwa, Lawrence C. Davis, Asil Nurzhanova, Valentina Pidlisnyuk. Phytoremediation and Bioremediation of Pesticide-Contaminated Soil // Appl. Sci. – 2020. – Vol. 10 (4) – P.1217 -13333.
Web science. Q 3, Impact Factor: 2.217. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10041217
Abit K.E., Carlsen L., Nurzhanova A.A., NauryzbaevM.K. Activated Carbons from Miscanthus Straw for Cleaning Water Bodies in Kazakhstan //Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal. – 2019. – Vol. 21. – P. 259‒267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18321/ectj867
Scopus. Impact Factor: 0.410
Nurzhanova A., Mukasheva T., Berzhanova R., Kalugin S., Omirbekova A., Mikolasch A. Optimization of microbial assisted phytoremediation of soils contaminated with pesticides // International journal of phytoremediation. https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2020.1825330
Web science Q2. IF 2.570
Pidlisnyuk V., Mamirova A., Pranaw K., Shapoval P., Trogl J., Nurzhanova A. Potential role of plant growth-promoting bacteria in Miscanthus x giganteus phytotechnology applied to the trace elements contaminated soils // International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation. – 2020. – Vol. 155. – P. 105103.
Web science. Q 1, Impact Factor: 4.100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2020.105103
Mamirova А., Рidlisnyuk V., Amirbekov A.,Sevcu A., Nurzhanova A. Phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus sinensis аnd in organochlorine pesticides contaminated soil amended by Tween 20 and Activated carbon // Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2021
Web science. Q 2, Impact Factor: 3.16. DOI: 10.1007 / s11356-020-11609-у
Participation of foreign scientists in the project
1.Pidlisnyuk Valentina – professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Department of Environmental Chemistry & Technology, Faculty of the Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, Usti nad Labem, the Czech Republic. H-index 7. Scopus ID — 35774649500; ORCID — 0000-0002-1489-897X.
Pidlisnyuk Valentina – leader and executor of applied research international projects. Applied research is associated with the development and implementation of adsorption-desorption processes in the treatment of contaminated soils, natural and waste waters and the development of technology for phytoremediation of soils. Professor Pidlisnyuk collaborates with professor Nurzhanova more than 8 years in the different scientific projects, including NATO SPS MYO G4687 “New phytotechnology for military sites cleaning”. Professor Valentina Pidlisnyuk is a renowned international specialist in the field of phytoremediation of lands using second-generation biofuel plants, the biomass of which is converted into bioproducts or energy. She is the author and co-author of 358 scientific publications, including 61 works published in journals included in the Thomson Reuters and Scopus databases, as well as 11 monographs and 10 patents. She is currently the Scientific Director of the Czech Republic for the CORNET project, 2020-2022 “MISCANVALUE: Creating value chains for utilization of Miscanthus fibers from sustainably managed marginal and postmining areas (Germany-Czech Republic)” and NATO country Director, project NATO SPS MYO G4687 “New phytotechnology for military sites cleaning”, 2016-2021. She also leads the research team within the project supported by the Czech Technical Agency “Energy utilization of the brownfields of the Usti region”, 2020-2023.
Main publications (2020)
Pidlisnyuk V., Shapoval, P., Zgorelec Z., Stefanovska T., 2020. Multiyear phytoremediation and dynamic of foliar metal (loid) s concentration during application of Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu to polluted soil from Bakar, Croatia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09344-5. IF = 2.914
Pidlisnyuk V., Erickson L., Stefanovska T., Hettiarachchi G., Davis L., Trögl J., Shapoval P., 2020. Response to Grygar (2020) comments on “Potential phytomanagement of military polluted sites and biomass production using biofuel crop miscanthus x giganteus” — Pidlisnyuk et al. (2019). Environmental pollution, 261: 113038, Environmental Pollution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115037. IF = 5.71
Tarla D. N., Erickson L., Hettiarachchi G., Amadi S. I., Galkaduwa M., Davis L., Madhubhashini I., Nurzhanova A., Pidlisnyuk V., 2020. Phytoremediation and Bioremediation of Pesticide-Contaminated Soil. Applied Science, 10, 1217; https://10.3390/app10041217. IF = 2.217
2.Muratova Anna Yuryevna – Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, Doctor of Biological Sciences in the specialties «Microbiology» and «Biotechnology (including Bionanotechnology)», associate professor in the specialty «Microbiology». H-index = 9. . https://orcid.org/0000-0003-927-918X.
Muratova A. – head and executor of fundamental and applied research projects of the ISTC, RFBR, state contract with Federal Agency for Science and Innovation “Rosnauka” in the framework of the Federal Target Program, the 7th Framework Program of the European Union. Basic researches are devoted to studying the characteristics of the microbial metabolism of petroleum hydrocarbons, including PAHs, as well as plant-microbial interactions in the conditions of soil contamination with petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Applied researches are related to the isolation and selection of active microorganisms-destructors of organic pollutants, the development on their basis of technologies for bio- and phytoremediation of oil-contaminated soils. Author and co-author of more than 130 scientific papers, including three patents of the Russian Federation, 3 monographs, 2 teaching aids, more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed international and Russian publications, including peer-reviewed journals included in the Thomson Reuters and Scopus databases. There is an agreement on scientific cooperation between the Institute of Biochemistry and Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia and the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Agreement No. 9 dated August 23, 2016. The agreement is attached).
Main publications (2019-2020):
Turkovskaya O., Muratova A. Plant–bacterial degradation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the rhizosphere // Trends in Biotechnology. – 2019. – Vol. 37, No. 9. – P. 926-930. https://10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.04.010. WoS/Scopus/RISC; IF JCR 13.578 – Q1
Lyubun, Y., Muratova, A., Dubrovskaya, E., Sungurtseva, I., Turkovskaya, O. Combined effects of cadmium and oil sludge on sorghum: growth, physiology, and contaminant removal // Environmental Science and Pollution Research. – 2020. 27(18), 22720-22734. https://10.1007/s11356-020-08789-y. WoS/Scopus/RISC; IF JCR 2,914– Q2 – Q1
Muratova A.Yu., Gorelova S. V., Sungurtseva I. Yu., Zelenova N. A. Rhizospheric microbiomes of Sorghum bicolor grown on soils with anthropogenic polyelement anomalies // BIO Web of Conferences PLAMIC2020, 2020, 23, 03008. https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20202303008 WoS
Achieved results for 2021:
The effect of single and double inoculation of M. × giganteus by PGPR strains while cultivation in uncontaminated soil, soil spiked by ZnSO4 × 7H2O and Pb(NO3)2, and historically contaminated soil from the territory of the Tekeli mining and processing complex of JSC «Kazzinc» on biomass productivity, physiological parameters and remediation potential in greenhouse and field conditions.
It was found that M. × giganteus inoculation by PGPR strains has an ambiguous effect on the growth and development dynamic, biomass productivity, and physiological parameters depending on the type of used microorganism. Among the studied inoculants, A. brasilense, Mycolicibacterium sp., Shinella sp, Agrobacterium sp., Pseudomonas sp. strains, and a combination of Rhizobium sp. and Trichosporon sp. stimulated plant growth, decreased the ratios of Chl a to Chl b and the sum of chlorophylls to carotenoids, and increased the value of the non-photochemical component of fluorescence quenching Y (NPQ) compared to uninoculated plants.
It has been shown that inoculation by PGPR strains affects the phytoremediation of technogenically-contaminated soils increasing the efficiency of revitalization through the phytoextraction and phytostabilization mechanisms. In addition, the associations of Mycolicibacterium sp. + M. × giganteus and A. brasilense + M.×giganteus reduced the total Zn content in the soil by 34% and 41%, respectively, via phytoaccumulation process, since PGPRs stimulated the element uptake by Miscanthus, meanwhile, increasing Zn translocation to the aboveground biomass. The combination of Rhizobium sp. and Trichosporon sp. reduced the elements concentrations in aboveground biomass: Zn – by 1.5, Ni – by 1.4, Pb – by 5.2, Sr – by 1.3, and Cu – by 2.2 times. Agrobacterium sp. decreased concentration of Pb by 10.1, Zn – by 3.2, and Sr – by 1.4 times. The decrease in the elements’ concentrations observed in the presence of Shinella sp. ranged from 1.3 to 14.1 times; while Pseudomonas sp. reduced only Zn concentration (by 2.6 times). The phytostabilization process can explain this phenomenon, i.e., PGPRs stimulated elements accumulation in the plant roots. While cultivation of M. × giganteus inoculated by Rhizobium sp., Trichosporon sp., and their combination in technogenically contaminated soil for 2 years, the total content of Pb and Cr decreased by 2.8 and 3.6 times, respectively, comparing to uninoculated plants.
Assessing the rhizosphere microbial community composition of M. × giganteus after inoculation with PGPR strains, a consistently high survival rate of strains during the growing season and a decrease in the number of soil heterotrophs were established, indicating an active interference of inoculant strains into the microbial community of the research soil.
Key publications for 2021:
- Nurzhanova A., Mamirova A., Trögl J., Nebeská D., Pidlisnyuk V.V. Plant–Microbe Associations in Phytoremediation // Phytotechnology with Biomass Production: Sustainable Management of Contaminated Sites/ed. Erickson L.E., Pidlisnyuk V.V. CRC press Taylor & Francis Group. – 2021. – P. 123–140.
- Nurzhanova A., Muratova A., Berzhanova R., Mukasheva T., Mamirova A., Nurmagambetova A., Kuanysh B., Korganbay A., Kosylganova A. Optimization of phytoremediation of technogenically contaminated soils based on the construction of plant-microbial associations // Collection of scientific articles based on the materials of the International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Academician of the NAS RK, Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi KazNU Zayadan B.K. – Almaty: Kazakh university, 2021. – P. 30-36.
Reports at international conferences:
- Report at the plenary session of the International scientific-practical conference «Aspects and innovations of environmental biotechnology and bioenergy» Al-Farabi KazNU, February 12-13, 2021. Topic of the report: «Development of methods for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals based on the design of plant-microbial associations». Speaker: Nurzhanova A.A.
- IX International Scientific and Practical Conference «Biotechnology: Science and Practice», which will be held on September 20-24, 2021 in the «Ai-Petri» sanatorium (Miskhor village, Crimea). Topic of the report: «Rhizosphere microbiome of bioenergetic metal-resistant plant Miscanthus × giganteus and its remediation potential». Speaker: Muratova A.Yu.
