Prompt lead exposure of aqueous environment biomonitored by photosynthetic bacteria

Anthropogenic activities including industrialization, urbanization and growth of population have significantly increased concerns about detrimental effects of pollutants on health and environment. Among the heavy metal ions, lead (II) ions are especially toxic and hazardous. Here, we report the application of purple photosynthetic bacteria in biomonitoring of lead pollution in aqueous habitats. The monitoring method is based on light absorption and fluorescence responses of living microorganism to prompt appearance of lead ions in the solution. The Pb(II) ions penetrate the cell membrane immediately, attack and (in few mM external concentration) destroy the light harvesting system together with the reaction center protein. As these bacteria may act as bioaccumulators of lead, they can be also used for bioremediation of contaminated cultures. The advantages using photosynthetic bacteria for monitoring and accumulating Pb(II) pollution in aqueous environmental compartments are presented in the paper