ISOLATION OF ENDOPHYTES FROM CASTOR PLANT AND MEASURING ITS ACTIVITY AGAINST HEAVY METALS AND POLLUTANTS

The ever-increasing pollution of the environment has been one of the greatest concerns for science and the general public in the last fifty years. The rapid industrialization of agriculture, expansion of the chemical industry, and the need to generate cheap forms of energy has caused the continuous release of man-made organic chemicals into natural ecosystems. The benefits of combining endophytic bacteria with plants for increased remediation of pollutants have been successfully tried for toxic metal removal from contaminated soils. Endophytic bacteria reside within plant hosts without causing disease symptoms. Several methods have been devised for the treatment and removal of heavy metal in contaminated soils. Biological approach has the great potential that contributed for the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by endophytic bacterial assisted phytoremediation. Three endophytic bacteria were isolated from leaf, stem and root of Ricinus communis . All endophytic bacteria were able to grow at concentration of 5% Pb and 5% Zn and could be considered resistant to these metals. The plants which were under heavy metal stress and inoculated with endophytes showed the better growth as compared to control plants. This means that heavy metals are used by the organism for its own metabolism which converts the heavy metals from complex organic compounds into simple byproduct that promotes the growth of the plant. Endophytic association with host moong plants significantly increased the shoot length and biomass as compared to non inoculated control plants. The efficiency of all the three isolate was good in bioremediation of heavy metals. So if these isolates are used in consortium the yield will be more in bioremediation of heavy metals in highly contaminated soil. These isolates can be used as growth promoters in agriculture and also in the soil contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.