Isolation and Characterization of Halophilic Bacteria from Sundarban Soil

Abstract

-Halophiles, the most predominant organisms found in the mangrove forest, include varied genera of halophilic bacteria in different environment such as salt lakes, saline soils and salted food. The majority of halophilic microorganisms studied so far produce compounds with great potential in industrial process and they have physiological properties which facilitate its use with commercial aims. In this study of Sunderban soil, focus has been made on the isolation of halophilic organisms and their characterisation. Soils were collected from four different places of Sunderban and were used for physiochemical and microbiological analysis. Qualitative screenings of the isolates were done and three among them was selected having moderately good growth which was further optimised in different growth media. Characterisation of the isolates were done and based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing phylogenetic tree were constructed. The isolates showed multiple heavy metal tolerance and antibiotic resistance. The organisms were further tested for EPS as well as various extracellular enzyme productions thereby exploring their usage for various biotechnological purposes.