Endophytic Bacteria from Salt Marsh Plants as Potential Agents for Heavy Metal Bioremediation: A Preliminary Investigation of Siderophore Production and Metal Removal Efficiency

Endophytic Bacteria from Salt Marsh Plants as Potential Agents for Heavy Metal Bioremediation: A Preliminary Investigation of Siderophore Production and Metal Removal Efficiency | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Endophytic Bacteria from Salt Marsh Plants as Potential Agents for Heavy Metal Bioremediation: A Preliminary Investigation of Siderophore Production and Metal Removal Efficiency Ashwini Ravi, C Kaviya, S Varsha This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8154776/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 16 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Siderophores are low molecular weight compounds widely produced by microorganisms. These molecules exhibit a high affinity for iron, a crucial metal involved in many microbial metabolic activities. In addition to iron, siderophores have also been found to chelate other metal ions such as chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), and cadmium (Cd). In recent years, their potential in the bioremediation of heavy metals has been extensively studied, as they can effectively chelate a variety of metal ions, including toxic heavy metals. Among siderophore producing microbes, those originating from the saline environment remains less explored. Therefore, in the present study, halophilic endophytes from salt marsh plants were studied for its potential to produce siderophores and analysed for its efficacy in remediating heavy metals. From our previous study six endophytes designated as SR, IR, IS, CL, SS, SL from four halophytes of two different saline environments Rhizophora mucoronata, Ceriops decandra, Ipomea pes-caprae and Spinifex littoreus were identified as potential siderophore producers. Among them, three isolates SR, IS, IR with highest Siderophore Production Index (SPI) in CAS agar plates were further selected for optimization and remediation studies. Optimization by Response Surface methodology revealed the model fits best for isolate IR, while it showed lack of fit for both SR and IS. Bioremediation studies of these isolates by FTIR revealed that these organisms were capable of removing copper, chromium and lead making it a potential candidate for bioremediation of heavy metals and water treatment. Bioremediation Halophiles Iron Response Surface methodology Siderophore Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplementaryfile.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8154776","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":559328059,"identity":"57f2e3f1-1a38-42f3-bb7d-72ab342822ea","order_by":0,"name":"Ashwini 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Efficiency","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-biotechnology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Biotechnology](https://link.springer.com/journal/44340)","snPcode":"44340","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44340/3","title":"Discover Biotechnology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Bioremediation, Halophiles, Iron, Response Surface methodology, Siderophore","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8154776/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8154776/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSiderophores are low molecular weight compounds widely produced by microorganisms. These molecules exhibit a high affinity for iron, a crucial metal involved in many microbial metabolic activities. In addition to iron, siderophores have also been found to chelate other metal ions such as chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), and cadmium (Cd). In recent years, their potential in the bioremediation of heavy metals has been extensively studied, as they can effectively chelate a variety of metal ions, including toxic heavy metals. Among siderophore producing microbes, those originating from the saline environment remains less explored. Therefore, in the present study, halophilic endophytes from salt marsh plants were studied for its potential to produce siderophores and analysed for its efficacy in remediating heavy metals. From our previous study six endophytes designated as SR, IR, IS, CL, SS, SL from four halophytes of two different saline environments \u003cem\u003eRhizophora mucoronata, Ceriops decandra, Ipomea pes-caprae and Spinifex littoreus\u003c/em\u003e were identified as potential siderophore producers. Among them, three isolates SR, IS, IR with highest Siderophore Production Index (SPI) in CAS agar plates were further selected for optimization and remediation studies. Optimization by Response Surface methodology revealed the model fits best for isolate IR, while it showed lack of fit for both SR and IS. Bioremediation studies of these isolates by FTIR revealed that these organisms were capable of removing copper, chromium and lead making it a potential candidate for bioremediation of heavy metals and water treatment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Endophytic Bacteria from Salt Marsh Plants as Potential Agents for Heavy Metal Bioremediation: A Preliminary Investigation of Siderophore Production and Metal Removal Efficiency","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-15 14:43:32","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8154776/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-23T11:06:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T11:34:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"196326615780765506442881897234900793260","date":"2026-01-03T06:08:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-02T19:05:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"99052349744152616238601219880245876183","date":"2026-01-02T17:50:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-02T12:32:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"30776323658718741547573838711564008322","date":"2025-12-29T10:22:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-29T05:21:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"135879871396919897360149203344467729765","date":"2025-12-29T03:00:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-20T16:35:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"165277363149178198354402147865958553303","date":"2025-12-12T10:23:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"94073527575192893165565474450610616608","date":"2025-12-10T11:21:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-10T09:21:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-21T10:21:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-21T10:20:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Biotechnology","date":"2025-11-19T11:24:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-biotechnology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Biotechnology](https://link.springer.com/journal/44340)","snPcode":"44340","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44340/3","title":"Discover Biotechnology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b5be7273-0494-4267-b842-ce3f79b00bd6","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 15th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-06T04:38:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-15 14:43:32","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8154776","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8154776","identity":"rs-8154776","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}