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Strengthening mechanisms of indigenous bacteria in granite residual soil improvement via microbial induced calcite precipitation

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Abstract

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) has proven to be an effective method for soil reinforcement. Sporosarcina pasteurii is widely used due to its high urease activity. However, being an alkaliphilic bacterium, its limitations in acidic soil environments tend to be overlooked. This study isolated a native urease-producing bacterial strain Bacillus aryabhattai with acid tolerance, and comparative analysis of the growth characteristics of B. aryabhattai and S. pasteurii. The grouting and spraying techniques were employed to reinforce granite residual soil by the B. aryabhattai and the S. pasteurii, and the reinforcement mechanisms were systematically investigated. Experimental results indicated that despite exhibiting slightly lower urease activity and growth, the indigenous urease-producing bacterium B. aryabhattai demonstrated superior environmental resilience in terms of both environmental temperature and pH range. The soil samples reinforced by grouting with B. aryabhattai and S. pasteurii exhibited increases in ultrasonic wave velocity, unconfined compressive strength, cohesion, and cumulative disintegration rate to varying degrees compared to the untreated soil samples. Meanwhile, the resistance value of the soil samples reinforced by spraying with B. aryabhattai and S. pasteurii decreased by 84.39% and 79.79%, respectively. Additionally, the calcium carbonate content in the upper section of soil reinforced with B. aryabhattai was comparable to that of S. pasteurii; however, while in the lower section, it exhibited a 36.22% higher precipitation rate than the S. pasteurii-treated soil. Overall, the indigenous strain B. aryabhattai demonstrated remarkable reinforcement effectiveness, attributed to its rapid adaptation to weakly acidic soil conditions and moderate urease activity, which promoted a homogeneous distribution of calcium carbonate. These findings provide significant insights for soil reinforcement applications through MICP.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available in the NBCI repository, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/PX257993].

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province under Grant No. 2024J01912, the transportation Science and Technology Project of Fujian Province under Grant No. 202231. The authors gratefully acknowledge the English editing services provided by Ms. Qiannan Ma from Scientific Compass (www.shiyanjia.com).

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province under Grant No. 2024J01912, the transportation Science and Technology Project of Fujian Province under Grant No. 202231. The authors gratefully acknowledge the English editing services provided by Ms. Qiannan Ma from Scientific Compass (www.shiyanjia.com).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuyi University, Wuyishan, 354300, China

    Rong Wang, Chao Peng, He Zhao, Haixing Liu, Taibing Wei & Huawei Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Smart Town Construction of Hilly Mountains (Wuyi University), Fujian Province University, Wuyi University, Wuyishan, 354300, China

    Rong Wang & Huawei Li

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Chao Peng, He Zhao, Haixing Liu & Lijuan Wang

Authors

  1. Rong Wang
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  2. Chao Peng
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  3. He Zhao
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  4. Haixing Liu
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  5. Taibing Wei
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  6. Lijuan Wang
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  7. Huawei Li
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Contributions

Rong Wang, Chao Peng, and He Zhao wrote the main manuscript text; Rong Wang, Haixing Liu, and Lijuan Wang prepared all figures; Taibing Wei, and Huawei Li administrated the projects; All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Lijuan Wang or Huawei Li.

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Wang, R., Peng, C., Zhao, H. et al. Strengthening mechanisms of indigenous bacteria in granite residual soil improvement via microbial induced calcite precipitation.
Sci Rep (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32718-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32718-z

Keywords

  • MICP
  • Granite residual soil
  • Growth characteristics
  • Reinforcement mechanism
  • Environmental adaptability

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