LAUSR

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performances of Pichia kudriavzevii CR-Y103 yeast strain for the decolorization, biodegradation, and detoxification of cationic dye C.I. Basic Blue 41, a toxic compound to aquatic life with long-lasting effects. Under optimized cultural conditions (10.0-g L−1 glucose, 0.2-g L−1 yeast extract, and 1.0-g L−1 (NH4)2SO4), the yeast strain was able to decolorize 97.86% of BB41 (50 mg L−1) at pH 6 within 4 h of incubation at 30 °C under shaken conditions (12,238.00-μg h−1 average decolorization rate) and 100% within 12 h. The UV-Vis spectral analysis, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the complete decolorization and degradation of the BB41 dye by P. kudriavzevii CR-Y103. Also, other seven yeast strains, isolated from soil, as P. kudriavzevii (CR-Y108, CR-Y119, and CR-Y112), Candida tropicalis CR-Y128, Cyberlindnera saturnus CR-Y125, and Candida solani CR-Y124 have shown a promising decolorizing potential of azo-dye BB41 (99.89–76.09% decolorization). Phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity assays on Trifolium pratense and Triticum aestivum seedlings confirmed the high toxicity of BB41 dye (500 ppm), with inhibition on germination rate (%), root and shoot elongation, decreasing of mitoxic index value (with 34.03% in T. pratense and 40.25% in T. aestivum), and increasing the frequency of chromosomal aberrations (6.87 times in T. pratense and 6.25 times in T. aestivum), compared to control. The same biomarkers indicated the nontoxic nature of the BB41 degraded metabolite (500 ppm) obtained after P. kudriavzevii CR-Y103 treatment. Moreover, the healthy monkey kidney cells (Vero cells) had a low sensitivity to BB41 biodegraded products (250 μg mL−1) (MTT cell viability assay) and revealed minor DNA damage (comet assay) compared to BB41 dye treatment. These findings show that P. kudriavzevii could be used in eco-friendly bioremediation technologies, applicable for reducing the toxicity of basic azo-dyes containing wastewaters.