Comparative Study of Soluble Sulfate Reduction by Bacterial Consortia from Varied Regions of India

Soluble sulfate contamination in water is observed due to various industrial activities. Chemical means of reduction are available yet the biological approach is the preferred one. Problem statement: The problem addressed in this study was the isolation of efficient sulfate reducing bacterial consortia for bioremediation of soluble sulfate from mining effluent. Approach: The culture based method using the DSMZ specific media were used for isolation of sulfate reducing bacterial consortia. Their reduction efficiency was measured spectrophotometrically following growth under varied temperature and pH in specified media as well as in effluent water. The microbial consortia were analyzed at the 16SrDNA level to identify the members. The completeness as well as richness of the study was analyzed using OTU saturation curve, Shannon diversity index and equitability index. Results: All the eight consortia were able to tolerate vide range of pH (6-9) and temperature (20-40°C). They could reduce 63-99% of soluble sulfate (~2000 ppm) in 48 h. Conclusion: This study reported about the enrichment of few of the most efficient anaerobic microbial consortia that could be employed for environmental soluble sulfate reduction under diverse pH and temperature conditions.