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Online ISSN : 2349-8080 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorinchiefijcrbp@gmail.com |
Iron mining activities generate huge amount of mine spoil dumped in the form of overburden, which represents nutrient deficient situation inhospitable for the existence of flora and fauna. The deterioration in soil health because of the mining activities is a matter of environmental concern for which it deserves priority for its reclamation. The investigation about the microbial community structure and its characterization provide greater understanding about the microbial activities and their contribution towards ecosystem functioning. In the present study, a mesophilic bacterium was isolated from fresh iron mine overburden spoil and identified through 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Microbial characterization revealed that the isolated bacterium was gram negative, obligatory and facultative chemolithotroph. The bacterium exhibited optimal growth at 37oC in culture medium with pH 5, which suggested that the bacterium was mesophilic and acidophilic in nature. The growth response of the bacterium revealed relatively higher growth rate in heterotrophic condition as compared to chemolithotrohic culture condition. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequence homology suggested that the isolated bacterium exhibited closer resemblance with Ralstonia solanacearum NC_003296.1 (100% sequence identity), which posses wide geographic distribution, large host range and the exceptional capacity to adapt in many different environments.
