Phenanthrene Degradation Ability of Bacillus sp. Phyllosphere Bacteria Inhabiting the Urban Areas in Sri Lanka
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Date
2020
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Remediation of phenanthrene from the environment is essential since its toxic effect. Out
of many remediation methods, bioremediation is the most eco-friendly and effective
method which can be used to convert toxic substances to nontoxic. There are many
phyllosphere microorganisms which have the capability in phenanthrene like
polyaromatic air pollutant degradation. This attempt is to isolate, select, and identify the
efficient phenanthrene degrading bacteria. Bacteria were isolated using specific leaf
samples collected from Panchikawatta, Orugodawatta, Pettah, Maradana, Colombo Fort,
and Sapugaskanda in Sri Lanka. Phenanthrene degradation ability of isolated bacteria was
screened using plate assay. Phenanthrene degradation ability of each bacterial species was
analysed using the UV-Vis spectrophotometer and HPLC. The selected bacterial isolates
were identified up to species level by PCR amplification of a fragment of 16S rRNA gene
and sequencing the amplified fragments using the primers 1492R and 27F.
Four Bacillus species Bacillus sp. P2B-02, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus sp.1, and Bacillus
megaterium were able to degrade more than 40% of phenanthrene. Out of these
bacteria, Bacillus sp.1 (MN190173) was the most efficient bacterial species which was
highly capable of degradation of phenanthrene. The Bacillus sp. could be useful as a
potential biological agent in bioremediation for polluted environments with phenanthrene
like polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Keywords: Phyllosphere, Aromatic hydrocarbon, Bioremediation, Phenanthrene
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Keywords
Environmental Science, Ecology, Zoology