Evaluation of manganese biodegradation rate by Spirulina platensis from industrial effluents and genetic study of heavy metal absorbing genes.

The remediation of heavy metal manganese from industrial wastewaters has always been a challenging issue for environmental experts. It has been found that different species of microalgae, including Spirulina platensis, can be used in industrial wastewater treatment to remove heavy metals. The main goal of this research is to reduce or remove the heavy metal manganese from the industrial wastewaters of factories by microalgae Spirulina platensis.

In this research, 8 types of industrial wastewaters were collected from different factories and after the algae reached the logarithmic phase, they were mixed with industrial wastewaters. Then, the concentration of manganese metal, the amount of metal absorption and the percentage of microalgae cleaning efficiency were determined by atomic absorption measurement. Also, cutting enzymes were designed for nucleotide sequencing of α-phycocyanin subunit gene from Spirulina microalgae. Then Clonewin software was used to confirm the primers and the target fragment was placed in the expression vector.

The results of atomic absorption evaluation showed that after exposure of spirulina to industrial wastewater for one hour, a significant decrease in the volume of the heavy metal manganese occurred. Also, the result of the α-phycocyanin subunit gene sequence showed 100% homology with the α-phycocyanin subunit gene sequence in the gene bank.

Therefore, Spirulina platensis has the ability to absorb manganese metal in industrial wastewaters from factories, and different expression vectors can be used for homogenization and expression of alpha subunit genes.