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Introduction
Bulent Icgen currently works at the Department of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University. Bulent does research in Environmental Engineering, Biotechnology and Molecular Biology. Their most recent publication is 'Biosorption of Strontium from Aqueous Solutions by Micrococcus luteus Sr02'.
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Publications
Publications (61)
The protozoan parasites Entamoeba histolytica and Blastocystis hominis are responsible for causing human amebiasis and hominis infections, respectively. These infections are highly prevalent and are often linked to waterborne diseases. Due to the absence of regulations for monitoring these protozoa at the discharge points of wastewater treatment pl...
Parasitic protozoa Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum are causative agents for giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis, respectively. These infections are mostly associated with waterborne diseases. The discharges from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that reach surface waters cause waterborne transmission since there are no regulations f...
Ozonation of sewage sludge prior to single-stage anaerobic digestion (SAD) has been reported to increase biogas and/or methane production. However, no studies have evaluated the impact of ozone pre-treatment on two-stage anaerobic digestion (TAD) of sewage sludge over the production of these renewable fuels. Present study, therefore, aimed at inves...
Anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge is commonly employed for sludge stabilization and energy generation at wastewater treatment plants. Of pretreatment techniques used to accelerate rate-limiting hydrolysis step in AD, economically feasible ozonation is prevalent and permits sludge reduction via oxidation. The stability of AD process during o...
Dissemination of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) from hospital wastewaters (HWWs) is facilitated by the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and involves association of ARGs with mobile genetic elements (MGEs). In our previous study, HWWs were found to have relatively high copy numbers of ARGs aadA, tetA, cmlA, sul1, and qnrS. In this study, therefore,...
Rhamnolipids, produced during biodegradation, enhance the removal of hydrocarbons by decreasing the surface tension and increasing the bioavailability. Unlike the synthetic surfactants, rhamnolipids are very promising for bioremediation because of low toxicity and biodegradability. Therefore, the need for eco-friendly and biodegradable surfactants...
Hospital wastewaters (HWWs) are reported to be hotspots for antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, limited information involves the impact of these effluents on dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, therefore, seasonally collected HWWs were monitored for overall bacterial load and seven ARGs aadA, tetA...
Water resources recovery facilities (WWTPs) are hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pose a significant threat to environments. Therefore, ARG removal efficiencies of WWTPs are of great importance. In this study, conventional activated sludge (CAS), biological nutrient removal (BNR), sequencing batch reactor (SBR), membrane bioreacto...
Kerosene, being one of the most commonly spilled petroleum products, needs to be removed from the polluted areas before it spreads over large habitats. Bioremediation is an environmental friendly approach for the cleanup of contaminated sites and exploits the potential of naturally occurring microbial populations or microorganisms with a known abil...
Aromatic ring hydroxylating dioxygenases (ARHDs), harboured by a variety of bacteria, catalyze the initial reaction in the degradation of a wide range of toxic environmental contaminants like aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Regardless of the source, bacteria harbouring RHDs play major role in the removal of these toxic contami...
Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) compounds are of great environmental concern due to their toxicity and carcinogenicity. Bacterial removal of BTEX has proven to be highly efficient, cost‐effective, and non‐disruptive, providing that, efficient bacterial degraders are available. The objective of this study, therefore, was to discover...
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have accelerated the emergence and spread of the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) worldwide. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that receive wastewaters from many different sources are considered as hotspots for the dissemination of ARGs freely and/or through bacteria. The ARGs spread from WWTPs can be trans...
Although strontium (Sr²⁺) is found in soils, sediments and surface waters, there is limited evidence about its biosorption. In this study, a surface water strain being highly tolerant to Sr²⁺ was isolated and identified as Micrococcus luteus Sr02 by using 16S rRNA sequencing. Biosorption behaviour and mechanisms of Sr²⁺ by M. luteus Sr02 were inves...
Biodegradation of anionic surfactants, like sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) are challenged by some bacteria through the function of the enzyme alkyl sulfatases. Therefore, identifying and characterizing bacteria capable of degrading SDS with high alkyl sulfatase enzyme activity are pivotal. In this study, bacteria isolated from surfactant contaminated...
Untreated wastewaters and treated effluents even after final disinfection contain antibiotic resistant bacteria and resistance genes before they are released into surface waters. A correlation between resistant bacteria and antibiotics in surface waters has been found, as have antibiotic resistance genes. Of particular interest are vancomycin-resis...
Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and other anthropogenic activities result in contamination of surface water by petroleum hydrocarbons. These pollutants can have severe effects on aquatic life and human health. In petroleum bioremediation, oil degrading microorganisms are utilized to remove petroleum hydrocarbons from polluted water. However,...
The glycopeptide antibiotics teicoplanin and vancomycin are common to treat severe Gram-positive bacterial infections. The gene vanA confers high-level resistance to these antibiotics, and these phenomena have been shown to be transferable. Release of vancomycin- and teicoplanin-resistant bacteria to surface waters is, therefore, of particular conc...
Due to the widespread occurrence of mecA-encoded methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), treatment of staphylococcal infections is shifted to glycopeptide antibiotics like vancomycin and teicoplanin. The selective pressure of glycopeptides has eventually led to the emergence of staphylococci with increased resistance. Of great conce...
Part of a 20-60 kb staphylococcal chromosome cassette called mecA encodes low-affinity penicillin-binding protein PBP2a and causes methicillin resistance. Among all methicillin-resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen and main concern worldwide. Although the origin of the mecA is not very well-defined, mec...
Biosorption, using cadmium-resistant bacterial isolates, is often regarded as a relatively inexpensive and efficient way of cleaning up wastes, sediments, or soils polluted with cadmium. Therefore, many efforts have been devoted to the isolation of cadmium-resistant isolates for the efficient management of cadmium remediation processes. However, is...
Due to their metal removal ability, bacterial biosorbents can be effectively used for the treatment of wastewaters containing heavy metals. Searching for bacterial biosorbents for hazardous heavy metals like cadmium is a pivotal for remediation efforts. The gene cadA, that mediates resistance to cadmium over an ATP-dependent efflux mechanism, provi...
Due to natural attenuation, anionic detergents in surface waters are not inferred as big environmental issues. However, the effluents from large industrial areas with high detergent concentrations can have significant local impacts. These circumstances can be diminished by using efficient detergent-degrading bacterial isolates through bioaugmentati...
Degradation of poorly water soluble hydrocarbons, like n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are challenged by some bacteria through emulsification of hydrocarbons by producing biosurfactants. In diesel oil bioremediation, diesel oil degrading and surfactant producing bacteria are used to eliminate these pollutants from contaminated waters...
Aquatic ecosystems represent important vehicles for the dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Of particular interest are methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) harboring mecA gene that confers their resistance to β-lactams. Therefore, in this study, water samples collected from different locations of a r...
Contamination of surface waters with antimicrobials has become an increasing public health concern because of the emergence of multi-resistant pathogens. For this reason, water samples collected from the Kızılırmak River-Kırıkkale, Turkey were analysed to learn more about the co-occurrence of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Resis...
The first major challenge for the bioremediation field is to select the most promising types of biomass. Hence, the objective of this study was to isolate and identify a novel species which has the potential to remediate tin in freshwaters. For this reason, a bacterium designated as Sn11, with 59 μg ml−1 maximum tolerable concentration of tin was i...
Incomplete removal of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in wastewater treatment plants may result in SDS residues escaping and finding their way into receiving water bodies like rivers, lakes, and sea. Introduction of effective microorganisms into the aerobic treatment facilities can reduce unpleasant by-products and SDS residues. Selecting effective mi...
Acinetobacter in surface waters are a major concern because of their rapid development of resistance to a wide range of antimicrobials and their ability to persist in these waters for a very long time. Four surface water isolates of Acinetobacter having both multidrug- and multimetal-resistant ability were isolated and identified through biochemica...
Four Staphylococcus isolates having both multidrug- and multimetal-resistant ability were isolated from surface water. Further identification of the isolates was obtained through biochemical tests and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. One methicillin-resistant and two methicilin-sensitive isolates were determined as Staphylococcus aureus. The other isolate...
A surface water isolate of Raoultella sp. having both multidrug- and multimetal-resistant ability was isolated and identified as Raoultella planticola. R. planticola displayed resistance to 15 drugs like ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, aztreonam, erythromycin, imipenem, oxacillin, pefloxacin, penicillin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobact...
Strontium resistance was investigated in strains isolated from the river Kızılırmak which has been affected by industrial and agricultural heavy metal pollution from the surrounding facilities and domestic effluents from the city Kırıkkale, Turkey. Strontium-resistant isolates with a minimal inhibitory concentration of 2000 mg L were isolated and i...
Crystal protein synthesis by a local isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis was monitored and compared in association with growth and sporulation in media differing in mineral element content. Mg and Cu were the most important metals for the biosynthesis of 135 kDa and 65 kDa toxin components in that the former was essential and the latter was greatly s...
The regulation of crystal protein production in Bacillus thuringiensis 81 by sources of carbon and nitrogen was investigated. The highest titers of toxin were obtained on sucrose, lactose and inulin which also supported sporulation. Whey and molasses were also potential carbon substrates for toxin production. Other carbohydrates including glucose,...
Five local and seven standard strains of Rhizobium cicer were compared in terms of their efficiency in increasing the nitrogen content of the chickpea. Shoot dry weight, nodule number, nodule dry weight, protein and total nitrogen contents were taken as the parameters of plant productivity. Different combinations of the strains that were found to b...
20 local isolates of enterics belonging to the genera Salmonella, Enterobacter, Proteus, Citrobacter from human, chicken and/or egg were characterised for their antibiotic resistance patterns, plasmid profiles, phage types, outer membrane proteins, and lipopolysaccharide patterns. Relatedness of these characteristics for epidemiological analysis wa...
