Isolation and characterization of an arsenic-resistant bacterium from a bore-well in West Bengal, India

Abstract

An arsenic-resistant bacterium, strain KRPC10YT, was isolated from arsenic-infested bore-well of West Bengal, India. The bacterium was resistant to exceeding concentrations of arsenate (30 mM) and arsenite (20 mM). The bacterium was Gram-positive, rod-shaped, motile and yellowish to orange-pigmented. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, iso- C15:0. The DNA G+C content was 49 mol %. Based on its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, it was identified as a member of the genus Planococcus and is the first known Planococcus resistant to arsenic. KRPC10YT was positive for indole, catalase, tolerated up to 12.0% NaCl and exhibited phenotypic differences with other type strains of genus Planococcus. Strain KRPC10YT thus could be a novel species of the genus Planococcus. The type strain is KRPC10YT (= MTCC 7758 T, = JCM 13947T).