Abstract

DEVELOPMENT OF BACTERIAL CONSORTIUM TOLERANT TO ARSENIC AND ENDOSULFAN BY ISOLATING BACTERIA FROM ARSENIC CONTAMINATED WATER BODIES IN BIHAR, INDIA

Akhileshwari Nath*, Amrita Srivastava, Neha Mithilesh, Azmi Khan, Gyanendra Bahadur Chand and Pratika Singh

Abstract

Arsenic and Endosulfan are major contaminants of soil and water mainly in the Gangetic regions of Bihar. Water becomes contaminated due to Arsenic and use of pesticides. These all toxicants when get introduced in our food chain cause severe damage after accumulation in our body. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop methods and approaches to combat damaging impact of such contaminants. In present study, Arsenic and Endosulfan resistant bacterial strains were isolated from water samples of four different regions of Bihar viz, Vidupur, Rahimpur, Daudnagar and Chechar. Total 10 bacterial strains having distinct morphological characteristics were isolated from water samples. All the strains were grown on different Arsenic and Endosulfan concentrations. pH was Optimized for proper bacterial growth and IC50 for Sodium arsenate was determined. Minimal Inhibition Concentration (MIC) of isolates for Endosulfan was also measured which varied widely for different strains. Out of total 10 strains, 7 strains were selected for further studies on the basis of their growth pattern. Gram staining and Antibiotic sensitivity test were performed. An optimum combined concentration of Arsenic and Endosulfan (1mg/ml Arsenic + 0.75 mg/ml Endosulfan) was determined for the preparation of a consortium of selected isolates. Genomic DNA was isolated from selected strains and 16S r RNA gene amplification was done for their identification by sanger sequencing using 27F-1492R primers. The consortium thus obtained on a large scale in wet land might prove to be very useful for bioremediation of Arsenic from wet land and pond.

Keywords: Arsenic, Endosulfan, Bioremediation, Bacteria, Minimum Inhibition Concentration.