Bioremediation of Industrial Effluents by Alkaliphilic Bacteria Isolated from Marine Ecosystems

Alkaliphilic bacteria are a diverse group of microorganisms capable of surviving at high pH. Industrial pollutants are mainly present in industrial waste effluents which have a high pH. Therefore employing alkaliphiles for bioremediation of toxic compounds present in the industrial waste effluents would be of great help. In this study alkaliphiles were isolated from various marine ecosystems of Goa, West Coast of India. The alkaliphiles were isolated on PPYG medium (Polypeptone Yeast Extract Glucose) medium of pH 10.5.The buffering capacities of the obligate alkaliphiles obtained from the sediment and water samples were studied. These alkaliphiles were also screened for their ability to degrade a wide range of aromatic compounds and it was observed that most of the alkaliphiles utilized these aromatic compounds especially phenol as sole source of carbon. Further these obligate alkaliphiles also showed an excellent ability to grow on industrial effluents when these effluents were supplemented as sole source of carbon in MSM (Mineral Salt Medium).