Isolation, Characterization and Protein Profiling of Lead Resistant Bacteria

Aims: To isolate lead resistant bacteria from industrial effluent and characterize them by biochemical tests, effect of physical and chemicals factors on their growth and protein profiling of the isolates on with or without metal stress.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study of related research articles and papers.
Place and Duration of Study: Samples were collected from effluent water of Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO), Burnpur, West Bengal, India and studied at The Department of Biotechnology, The University of Burdwan. West Bengal, India, between September 2010 and June 2011.
Methodology: Isolation of the isolates was done by pour plating the diluted effluent water onto the metal (Lead acetate) containing agar plates. The basic characterization of the isolates was done on the basis of morphological, physical, biochemical and antibiogram tests. Quantification of metal absorption was determined by Atomic absorption Spectrophotometric analysis. Protein expressions of the isolates on metal stress were studied by SDS-PAGE.
Results: Two bacterial isolates namely PbrB1 and PbrB2 were isolated; they showed resistance to lead up to 6mM Lead (Lead acetate) and also to different antibiotics. They are able to ferment different sugars even in presence of low concentration of metals. Their protein profiling by SDS-PAGE shows different expressions of proteins upon metal stress.
Conclusion: The isolates can be utilized to bioremediate lead from contaminated environment and further study of molecular mechanisms underlying lead accumulation process can be studied.