Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

MOLECULAR DESIGN FOR BIOREMEDIATION OF CR (VI) BY PSEUDOMONAS PUTIDA

G. Renuga, S. Kalidhasan, A. Babu Thandapani and K.R. Arumugam

Abstract

Pseudomonas putida isolated from tannery sludge, were examined for their tolerance to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) and their ability to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III), a detoxification process in cell suspension and cell extracts.. Pseudomonas putida could reduce Cr (VI) up to 50mg/mL, in terms of their Cr (VI) reducing ability and resistance to Cr (VI), and the Cr (VI) reduction was mainly associated with the soluble protein fraction of the cell. Pseudomonas putida strains were also screened for the presence of plasmid DNA had proved successful and harbored two plasmids of 9Kb and 4Kb molecular mass respectively. This approach has a great potential for bioremediation of Cr (VI)-polluted environments.