Abstract
The present study aimed at characterizing the heavy metal resistance and assessing the resistance pattern to multiple heavy metals (300 mmol L −1) by Palk Bay sediment bacteria. From 46 isolates, 24 isolates showed resistance to more than eight heavy metals. Among the 24 isolates S8-06 ( Bacillus arsenicus), S8-10 ( Bacillus pumilus), S8-14 ( B. arsenicus), S6-01 ( Bacillus indicus), S6-04 ( Bacillus clausii), SS-06 ( Planococcus maritimus) and SS-08 ( Staphylococcus pasteuri) exhibited high resistance against arsenic, mercury, cobalt, cadmium, lead and selenium. Plasmid curing confirmed that the heavy metal resistance in S8-10 is chromosomal borne. Upon treatment with the heavy metals, the strain S8-10 showed many morphological and physiological changes as shown by SEM, FTIR and AAS analysis. S8-10 removed 47% of cadmium and 96% of lead from the growth medium. The study suggests that sediment bacteria can be biological indicators of heavy metal contamination.
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