Removal of Heavy Metal by Biosurfactant Producing Novel Halophilic Staphylococcus sciuri subsp. rodentium Strain SE I Isolated from Sambhar Salt Lake

The application of halophilic biosurfactant-producing bacteria to remove the pollutants from textile effluent was investigated in the current study. Staphylococcus sciuri subsp. rodentium strain SE I isolated from Sambhar Salt Lake, Rajasthan showed the highest emulsification activity of 65 +/- 1.2 % after 96 h of incubation with a yield of 0.189 g/l of biosurfactant. The surface tension was reduced to 46.23 mN/m +/- 0.46 after 72 h at pH 7.0. The presence of non-ribosomal protein sequences gave a hint of the presence of surfactin-type lipopeptide biosurfactant and Copper Translocating P-type ATPase enzyme sequences indicating its presence can confer resistance against heavy metals. Strain SE I showed the potential to remove heavy metals from textile effluent viz. 67 % of Cd, 64 % of Pb, 59 % of Cu, 50 % of, Cr, and 33 % of Ni after 7 days of treatment as well exhibited decolorization of dyes ranging from 61 %+/- 0.15 to 95 %+/- 1.03, respectively. Based on the research findings, it is reasonable to conclude that surfactin biosurfactant extracted from S. sciuri subsp. rodentium strain SE I can be an alternative biosorbent and function as a bioremediation agent.

Automated summary

This study investigates the application of halophilic biosurfactant-producing bacteria for removing pollutants from textile effluent. The strain SE I of Staphylococcus sciuri subsp. rodentium, isolated from Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan, showed high emulsification activity and reduced surface tension. It also exhibited the potential to remove heavy metals and decolorize dyes. The surfactin biosurfactant extracted from this strain can be an alternative biosorbent and bioremediation agent.