Bioremediation of Mercury by Screened from Industrial Effluents.

Thirty-one mercury-resistant bacterial strains were isolated from the effluent discharge sites of the SIPCOT industrial area. Among them, only one strain (CASKS5) was selected for further investigation due to its high minimum inhibitory concentration of mercury and low antibiotic susceptibility. In accordance with 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences, the strain CASKS5 was identified as . The mercury-removal capacity of was analyzed at four different concentrations (100, 150, 200, and 250 g/ml). Efficient bioremediation was observed at a level of 250 g/ml with the removal of 60% of mercury ions. The interesting outcome of this study was that the strain had a high bioremediation efficiency but had a low antibiotic resistance. Hence, could be successfully used as a strain for the ecofriendly removal of mercury.