In situ mineral formation on a plate for direct and efficient screening of bacteria suitable for biocementation
Microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) using a urea-hydrolyzing enzyme (urease) is a next-generation, environmentally friendly cementation technique. The isolation of excellent urease-producing bacteria for MICP is essential for establishing this technique. We have demonstrated a highly effective screening method for identifying promising bacteria suitable for MICP. In our selective plate, MICP-positive bacteria formed a CaCO<sub>3</sub> halo around the colony on the plate, which was clearly distinguishable. Furthermore, we found that the CaCO<sub>3</sub> formation activity of each bacterium was strongly correlated with the strength of the solidified sand samples. This technique is a novel approach for screening bacteria suitable for biocementation or MICP.
Authors
- Masahiro Fujita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7078-6844)
- Thiloththama Hiranya Kumari Nawarathna
- Parthasarathy Baskaran Sujiritha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5219-663X)
- Meiqi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9833-7415)
- Sivakumar Gowthaman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9880-7886)
- Chikara Takano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4430-6920)
- Satoru Kawasaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7984-928X)
- Wilson Mwandira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2498-2857)
- Kazunori Nakashima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4492-104X)
- Aya Yaegashi
- Yuta Sugawara
- Numbi Ramudu Kamini
Institutions
- Central Leather Research Institute (IN)
- University of Jaffna (LK)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- London South Bank University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2025-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-01350-2
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science