Detection of Potential Eco-friendly Microbes to Clean-Up the Polluted Water in Sri Lanka

Microbial biodegradation of pollutants has intensified in recent years as mankind strives to find sustainable ways to clean up contaminated environments. These biological processes play a major role in the removal of contaminants in the polluted environment. Utilization of catabolic versatility of naturally occurring microorganisms in biodegrading processes is an essential process to degrade or convert such compounds. Recent developments in molecular microbial ecology offer new tools that facilitate molecular analyses of microbial population at contaminated sites. Both conventional and the molecular methods were used in this study to identify the bacteria from different polluted environments. Bacteria were isolated from the rubber latex contaminated water, municipal waste, petroleum waste and agricultural waste. Then, microbial DNA was isolated and amplified with Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific primers. The amplification of 162 bp specific region of catabolic gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa confirmed the presence of this organism in the contaminated water collected from different climatic regions in Sri Lanka.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jepsl.v1i2.5149

Journal of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka Vol.1(2) 2012 76-82