ARUN KARNWAL, VAISHALI BHARDWAJ, ARADHANA DOHROO, ATUL KUMAR UPADHYAY AND RITU BALA
Abstract
A variety of microorganisms generate highly potent surface-active bio-molecules, biosurfactants, which vary in their chemical properties and molecular size. The present study is aimed to investigate the bioremediation potential of Kocuria rosea VB1 (GenBank ID.: KY608093.1) and Arthrobacter luteolus VB2 (GenBank ID.: KY608094.1) in industrial polluted water, rich in heavy metals such as (nickel) Ni and (chromium) Cr. Total 86 morphologically distinct bacterial isolates were screened from various samples. RBC hemolysis assay, BATH assay, CT AB, Oil-spreading and E24 assays were deployed to screen the biosurfactant production ability. Subsequently, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to characterize the bacterial isolates genotypically. Heavy metal bioremediation analysis of polluted water was done by using atomic adsorption spectroscopy (AAS). Our study revealed that the isolate Kocuria rosea VB1 and Arthrobacter luteolus VB2 reduced the concentration of Ni and Cr by 89 and 78% respectively, at pH 7.5. The present investigation suggests that these two bacterial isolates may be deployed to treat heavy metal pollution in industrially polluted water reserves.