Heavy metals tolerance in bacteria from industrial wastewater
Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Research Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2021, 15(03), 307–316.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2021.15.3.0181
Publication history:
Received on 20 May 2021; revised on 23 June 2021; accepted on 27 June 2021
Abstract:
The incidence of chemical stressors in industrial waste effluents has culminated in the re-engineering the genetic and metabolic characteristic of resident microbiota. Microbial adaptability enables them to tolerate these stressors however, propelling the phenomena of acquisition of heavy metal resistance which may also incite resistance to antibiotics. Waste water from industrial establishments may travel from site into surrounding communities via canals and waterways thus, disseminating these stressors as well as resistance in the environment. This study seeks to investigate the physicochemical and heavy metal composition of industrial effluent and its tolerance in resilient bacteria from the study area. Physiochemical analyses revealed pH level which ranged between (5.8-10.87), BOD (6.612-16.01 mg/l), TDS (937.226-2173.49 mg/l), Sulphates (658.72- 1342.28 mg/l), Nitrates (11.46-70.16 mg/l), Phosphate (3.03-8.43 mg/l) exceeded the NESRA limits; Cu (0.024-4.521 mg/l) Cd (0.002-6.41 mg/l), Pb (0.001-8.151mg/l), Zn (0.511-6.092 mg/l). All the isolates showed marked tolerance to Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd and Zn at concentrations between 200 and 500µg/ml, except Alkanindiges sp. 5-0-9 and Bacillus altitudinis which were not susceptible to all the heavy metals at all concentrations. This study revealed the incidence of heavy metal resistance among bacterial isolates from industrial wastewater, the incidence of which could give rise to co-occurrence with antibiotic resistance thus, aggravating a public health concern.
Keywords:
Bacteria; Heavy metal; Tolerance; Resistance; Wastewater
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Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
