Bioremediation of Cadmium Contaminated Effluent by Sporosarcina luteola: A Bacterium Isolated from Soil near Wazirpur Industrial Area, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Heavy metals pollution is emerging as a threat to ecological systems causing various problems to mankind, plants and animals. Aim of the present study was to isolate and identify cadmium tolerant bacteria from the soil of Wazirpur industrial area of New Delhi (India). The study involved physico-chemical characterization of the polluted soil which was found to contain high concentration of iron, manganese and cadmium at 352, 15.3 g/kg soil and 3.16 ppm, respectively. One bacterial strain was identified as Sporosarcina luteola on the basis of morphological, biochemical and phylogeny analysis. Strain Sporosarcina luteola was highly resistant to Cd up to 5mM (mM= millimolar) when cultured in solidified nutrient agar plates and 7.2 mM in nutrient broth. Sporosarcina luteola has also showed substantial growth in presence of Co, Pb, Fe and Mn upto 2.0, 2.0, 3.5 and 4.0 mM, respectively in liquid medium. Optimum growth of identified bacteria was shown at 37 ºC, 7.0 pH and it tolerated up to 3 % sodium chloride (w/v). This is reported for the first time that Sporosarcina luteola (metal-tolerant bacteria) has potential of removal of cadmium from industrially contaminated soil.