Abstract
Article History This study investigated the ability of Bacillus species isolated from soil and water samples to degrade some petroleum products and pesticides as well as its ability antimicrobial potency against selected pathogens. Bacillus species were isolated from soil collected from dumping site and water samples from Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria on Luria Bertani agar. The biodegradative and antimicrobial activities of the isolates were conducted using minimal nutrient medium and agar well diffusion methods respectively. Commercial antibiotics were used as positive control. All the Bacillus isolates showed varied degree of degradation on petroleum products and pesticides. Only B. polymyxa showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with zone of inhibition of 18.00mm. The commercial antibiotics were most inhibitory to most of the test pathogens in varying degrees.The isolates can be used in mitigating pollution caused by oil spillage and overuse or abusive use of herbicides and fungicides. However, these isolates are not good candidate as antibacterial agents for the selected test pathogens.
Highlights
The release of contaminant to the environment, including petroleum and petroleumderived products, is one of the main causes of global contamination (Rahman et al, 2002) which constitutes risk to human and animal health because of their toxigenic and carcinogenic properties
Four Bacillus species were isolated from contaminated soil and water and they were: Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, B. cereus and B. polymyxa
Bacillus cereus had the highest degradative ability on crude oil, engine oil, kerosene and petrol by having the highest turbidity when compared to the other Bacillus species
Summary
The release of contaminant to the environment, including petroleum and petroleumderived products, is one of the main causes of global contamination (Rahman et al, 2002) which constitutes risk to human and animal health because of their toxigenic and carcinogenic properties. Mechanical and chemical methods for remediation of hydrocarbonpolluted environment are expensive, technologically complex and lack public acceptance. The biodegradation of hydrocarbons has a high ecological significance, as it constitutes the major process for remediation of contaminated areas (Prabhu and Phale, 2003). Bioremediation remains the method of choice for effective removal of hydrocarbon pollutants in the environment. Hydrocarbon degrading bacteria and fungi are mainly responsible for the mineralization of oil pollutants and are distributed in diverse ecosystem (Alloway and Ayres 1993). The microbial degradation of hydrocarbon seems to be a promising tool in the control of pollution and is the subject of a large number of current researches on the biochemistry and the genetics involved in activity. Yeast and filamentous fungi have been reported as transforming agents (Hester and Mendelssohn, 2000)
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