Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Pantoea stewartii and Priestia aryabhattai and Their Antimicrobial, Larvicidal, Histopathological, and Biotoxicity Potential

Jeyaraj John Wilson; Thangamariyappan Harimuralikrishnaa; Thangavel Sivakumar; Shunmugiah Mahendran; Ponnirul Ponmanickam; Ramasamy Thangaraj; Subramanian Sevarkodiyone; Naiyf S Alharbi; Shine Kadaikunnan; Baskar Venkidasamy; Muthu Thiruvengadam; Rajakumar Govindasamy

doi:10.3390/bioengineering10020248

Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Pantoea stewartii and Priestia aryabhattai and Their Antimicrobial, Larvicidal, Histopathological, and Biotoxicity Potential

Bioengineering (Basel). 2023 Feb 13;10(2):248. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering10020248.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi 626124, India.
² Department of Zoology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi 626124, India.
³ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha University, Chennai 600077, India.
⁵ Department of Applied Bioscience, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai 600077, India.

Abstract

In recent years, green nanotechnology has gained considerable importance for the synthesis of nanoparticles due to its economic viability and biosafety. In the current study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using two bacterial isolates, H2 and H3, which were isolated from soil samples collected from the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, and identified at the species level as Pantoeastewartii (H2) and Priestiaaryabhattai (H3) by sequencing their 16s rRNA genes. Intracellularly synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and particle size analysis. AFM studies show that both of the bacterial synthesized Ag NPs were circular-shaped and disaggregated, with an average size distribution of 4 nm for Pantoeastewartii and 3.6 nm for Priestiaaryabhattai. Furthermore, their larvicidal activity, antimicrobial, histopathological, and biotoxicity effects were determined. The synthesized Ag NPs exhibited potent larvicidal activity against fourth instars of Ae.aegypti, An.stephensi, and Cx.quinquefasciatus exposed to a 50 µg/mL concentration for 24 h based on their LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values. Histopathological studies of the affected mosquito larvae clearly show damage to the epithelial cells, food bolus, basement membrane, muscles, and midgut parts. The maximum antimicrobial activity of Priestiaaryabhattai-synthesized Ag NPs was observed for Streptomyces varsoviensis MTCC-1537, and that of Pantoea stewartii-synthesized Ag NPs was against Escherichia coli MTCC-43. The toxicity test on non-target organisms such as Artemia nauplii and zebrafish embryos indicates no visible abnormalities or mortality after their exposure for 48h. It is concluded that silver nanoparticles can easily be synthesized using Pantoea stewartii (H2) and Priestia aryabhattai (H3) as capping and reducing agents. Silver nanoparticles showed potent larvicidal activities and could potentially be used in integrated vector control programs because they are safe for other inhabitants of the same aquatic environment as mosquito larvae.

Keywords: Pantoea stewartii H2; Priestia aryabhattai H3; antimicrobial; biocontrol agent; histopathology; larvicidal activity; silver nanoparticles; toxicity.

Grants and funding

Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R70), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.