Screening and identification of Lactic acid bacteria from Ya’an pickle water to effectively remove Pb(2+)

Heavy metal lead, which enters the human body through food intake, endangers human health. Microbe has the ability of adsorbing heavy metal, among which lactic acid bacteria are promising microbes to adsorb and remove Pb(2+). The purpose of this study was to screen lactic acid bacteria from Ya’an pickle water to effectively remove Pb(2+). The 7 strains having strong ability to effectively remove Pb(2+) were detected. These strains were identified by microscopic examination and 16S rDNA sequencing, 4 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and 3 strains of Lactobacillus brevis were obtained. Then the bacteria had a blind adsorption effect on Pb(2+). After microwave digestion, the Pb(2+) concentration was measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The highest removal reached 82.25%. The adsorption mechanism of lactic acid bacteria was mainly divided into biosorption and bioaccumulation. The 7 strains of lactic acid bacteria could provide potential for detoxification of contaminated foods and reduction of the Pb(2+) accumulation in the human diet and animal feed. At the same time, this study was helpful to further understand the mechanism of Pb(2+) being adsorbed by lactic acid bacteria. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13568-018-0724-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.