Biodegradation of sulfanilic acid using Bacillus cereus AAA2018 from textile industry effluent contaminated soil

Biodegradation of hazardous aromatic compounds is emerging as a potential tool for reduction of environmental pollution due to their high toxicity and complex synthetic nature. In this study textile effluent was used as a microbial source for aerobic degradation of sulfanilic acid. Two adaptation techniques were followed to maximize uptake of sulfanilic acid, provided as a carbon and nitrogen source. The continuous enrichment and acclimatization media techniques were carried out for 20 days, respectively and both samples were screened for better degradation efficiency. The isolates were found to be similar to the colonies obtained from effluent. Sulfanilic acid degrading organism was identified as Bacillus cereus AAA2018 using 16S rRNA sequencing. Similarly, study was done for fungal strain Aspergillus japonicas. The bacterial strain showed subsequent reduction of sulfanilic acid at minimal salt concentration, whereas A. japonicus showed very little degradation efficiency comparatively. The comparative study of biodegradation capacity of sulfanilic acid was confirmed using GCMS in which product degradation profile of both bacterial and fungal strains included Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and Phenol 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethyethyl) which gives an explanation for decrease in growth of bacterial culture as DMSO act as strong antibacterial agent.