Production of Extracellular Polymeric Substances by Halophilic Bacteria of Solar Salterns

Abstract

Moderately halophilic aerobic bacteria were isolated from 31 soil and 18 water samples collected from multipond solar salterns of Gujarat, Orissa, and West Bengal, India. A total of 587 bacterial isolates with distinct morphological features were obtained from these samples following dilution and plating on MH agar medium supplemented with NaCl. The isolates were screened for growth associated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production in MY medium under batch culture. In all, 20 isolates were selected as potent ones producing more than 1 g/L of EPS. These EPS producing isolates were characterized in detail for their morphological, physiological, and biochemical features and tentatively identified as members belonging to the genera Halomonas , Salinicoccus , Bacillus , Aidingimonas , Alteromonas , and Chromohalobacter . Apart from EPS production, these isolates also hold promise towards the production of various biomolecules of industrial importance.