Isolation and Screening of Terpene Resistant Microorganisms from Terpene Processing Plant

The objective of the current study was to isolate and screen strains with potential to tolerate high concentration of terpene substrates. Microorganisms were selectively isolated from soil, liquid and swab samples collected from strategic places (effluent, spillage, and pump body and plant floor) of two different units of terpene processing plant of Privi Organics India Limited, geographically located in India at Mahad, district Raigad, Maharashtra. Thirty seven bacterial and three fungal isolates were obtained from the samples collected from different locations. All the isolates were screened based on their ability to grow in presence of particular terpene substrates like alpha pinene, limonene, dihydromyrcene and citronellol. The capable isolates were further screened for their tolerance towards high concentrations of these substrates. Each isolate was found to be resistant in all terpene substrates at variable terpene concentrations. Subsequently, fourteen strains were selected based on their terpene resistance capacity and growth factor in presence of 10 % (v/v) of terpene concentration. This is the highest reported concentration so far in literature.