Bioremediation Efficacy of Chromium-Resistant Bacterial Isolates from Industrial Effluents at Krishna Ghat and Patliputra Industrial Area, Patna
Abstract
Chromium (Cr), released from different industries poses risks to living organisms, especially when anthropogenic activities raise its concentration in the environment. The present study therefore aims to find chromium-resistant bacteria for potential use in bioremediation. Wastewater samples from two industrial sites were collected, and six chromium-tolerant bacterial strains were isolated. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of all the six isolates was estimated against chromium. The results demonstrated that these isolates possess strong resistance to chromium, suggesting their potential effectiveness in detoxifying contaminated environments. Therefore, the study concludes that these chromium-resistant bacteria could serve as promising agents for bioremediation strategies aimed at reducing chromium pollution.
Keywords:
Bacteria, Bioremediation, Chromium, MIC (Minimum Inhibitory concentration)
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References
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Adhikary, S., Saha, B. K., Roy, V., Saha, J., & Pal, A. (2025). Deciphering chromate tolerance and reduction ability of an indigenous Bacillus strain isolated from polluted pond sludge for chromium bioremediation. Scientific reports, 15(1), 23323. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejchem.2019.18457.2142
Aththanayake, A. M. K. C. B., Deeyamulla, M. P., Megharaj, M., & Rathnayake, I. V. N. (2025). Biofilm Formation and Detoxification of Hexavalent Chromium by Bacillus subtilis: A Sustainable Approach to Bioremediation. Journal of basic microbiology, 65(6), e70022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jobm.70022
Ayele, A., and Godeto, Y.G. (2021). Bioremediation of chromium by microorganisms and its mechanisms related to functional groups. Journal of Chemistry, 2021(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/7694157
Banerjee, S., Kumar, A., Maiti, S.K. and Chowdhury, A. (2016). Seasonal variation in heavy metal contaminations in water and sediments of Jamshedpur stretch of Subarnarekha River, India. Environmental earth sciences, 75(3), p.265. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-015-4990-6
Basu, M., Bhattacharya, S., and Paul, A.K. (1997). Isolation and characterization of chromium-resistant bacteria from tannery effluents. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 58, 535–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001289900368
Camargo, F.A.O., Bento, F.M., Okeke, B.C., and Frankenberger, W.T. (2003). Chromate reduction by chromium-resistant bacteria isolated from soils contaminated with dichromate. J Environ Qual., 32(4), pp. 1228-33. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2003.1228
Congeevaram, S., Dhanarani, S., Park, J., Dexilin, M., Thamaraiselvi, K. (2007). Biosorption of chromium and nickel by heavy metal resistant fungal and bacterial isolates. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 146(1-2), 270-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.12.017
Farina, M., Avila, D.S., da Rocha, J.B.T. and Aschner, M. (2013). Metals, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: a focus on iron, manganese and mercury. Neurochemistry International, 62(5), 575-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2012.12.006
Ganguli, A. and Tripathi, A.K. (2002). Bioremediation of toxic chromium from electroplating effluent by chromate reducing Pseudomonas aeruginosa A2Chr in two bioreactors. Applied Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 58, 416-420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-001-0871-x
Garg, A., Ali, M., Ahmad, A., Chauhan, P., Kumar, A., Mishra, R., Dubey, V. K., Srivastava, A., Garg, S. K., & Arora, P. K. (2025). Survival tactics of Bacillus licheniformis KNP under hexavalent chromium stress: a study of detoxification and chemotactic responses. Frontiers in microbiology, 16, 1646518. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1646518
Ilias, M., Rafiqullah, I.M., Debnath, B.C., Mannan, K.S. and Hoq, M.M. (2011). Isolation and characterization of chromium (VI)-reducing bacteria from tannery effluents. Indian Journal of Microbiology, 51(1), 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-011-0095-4
Irshad, M.A., Sattar, S., Nawaz, R., Al-Hussain, S.A., Rizwan, M., Bukhari, A., Waseem, M., Irfan, A., Inam, A. and Zaki, M.E.A. (2023). Enhancing chromium removal and recovery from industrial wastewater using sustainable and efficient nanomaterial: a review. Ecotoxicology and Environment Safety, 263, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115231
Kalsoom, A.B., Din, G., Din, S.U., Jamil, J., Hasan, F., Khan, S., Badshah, M. and Shah, A.A. (2021). Isolation and screening of chromium resistant bacteria from industrial waste for bioremediation purposes. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 83, pp. e242536. https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.242536
Kalsoom, K., Din, S. U., Ceylan, E., Hasan, F., Khan, S., Badshah, M., Çanakçi, S., Belduz, A. O., & Shah, A. A. (2025). Cloning and expression of chromate reductase from Bacillus paramycoides S48 for chromium remediation. Scientific reports, 15(1), 18796. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03412-x
Khanam, R., Akter, S., Chakraborty, S., & Mahmud, S. (2026). Molecular Identification of Fungi Isolated From Tannery Wastes and Assessment of Their Chromium Reduction Ability. Environmental Quality Management, 35(3), e70281..
Khanam, R., Al Ashik, S.A., Suriea, U., Mahmud, S. (2024) Isolation of chromium resistant bacteria from tannery waste and assessment of their chromium reducing capabilities–A bioremediation approach. Heliyon,10(6), e27821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27821
Kumar, V. & Dwivedi, S. K. (2019) Hexavalent chromium reduction ability and bioremediation potential of Aspergillus flavus CR500 isolated from electroplating wastewater, Chemosphere, 237, 124567.
Liza, S. A., & Abdulla-Al-Mamun, M. (2025). Microbial degradation of tannery chrome-solid waste using Bacillus thuringiensis: optimization of collagen hydrolysate extraction via response surface methodology. RSC Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00666F
McLean, J., and Beveridge, T.J. (2001). Chromate reduction in Pseudomonad isolated from a site contaminated with chromate copper arsenate, Applied Environmental Microbiology, 67(3), 1076-84. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.67.3.1076-1084.2001
Monga, A., Fulke, A.B. and Dasgupta, D. (2022). Recent developments in essentiality of trivalent chromium and toxicity of hexavalent chromium: implications on human health and remediation strategies. Journal of Hazardous Material Advances, 7, 100113. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HAZADV.2022.100113
Padma, S., Srinivas, B., Ghanta, K. C., & Dutta, S. (2023). Bioremediation of Cr (VI) using indigenous bacterial strains isolated from a common industrial effluent treatment plant in Vishakhapatnam. Water Science & Technology, 88(11), 2889-2904. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2023.358
Paul, D. (2017). Research on heavy metal pollution of river Ganga: A review. Annals of Agrarian Science, 15(2), pp.278-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aasci.2017.04.001
Plestenjak, E., Kraigher, B., Leskovec, S. et al (2022). Reduction of hexavalent chromium using bacterial isolates and a microbial community enriched from tannery effluent. Sci Rep 12, 20197. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24797-z
Ramli, N.N., Othman, A.R., Kurniawan, S.B., Abdullah, S.R.S. and Hasan, H.A. (2023). Metabolic pathway of Cr (VI) reduction by bacteria: A review. Microbiological research, 268, p.127288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2022.127288
Sanjay, M.S., Sudarsanam, D., Antony Raj, G., Baskar, K. (2020). Isolation and identification of chromium reducing bacteria from tannery effluent. Journal of King Saud University - Science, 32(1), 265-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2018.05.001
Saxena, S., Vatwani, S., Singh, S., Singh, A., Singh, Y., Sharma, R.K., Mishra, R. and Arora, S. (2025). Exploring indigenous bacteria in wastewater for sustainable bioremediation for red and blue azodyes decolouration, and chromium (VI) degradation in industrial effluents. Water Practice & Technology, 20(4), 814-825. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2025.036
Shakoori, F.R., Tabassum S., Rehman A. and Shakoori A.R. (2010). Isolation and characterization of Cr6+ reducing bacteria and their potential use in bioremediation of chromium-containing wastewater. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 42, 651-658.
Sharma, P., Singh, S.P., Parakh, S.K. and Tong, Y.W. (2022). Health hazards of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and its microbial reduction. Bioengineered, 13(3), 4923-4938. https://doi.org/10.1080/21655979.2022.2037273
Shekhawat, K., Chatterjee, S., and Joshi, B. (2015). Chromium toxicity and its health hazards. International Journal of Advanced Research, 3(7), 167-172. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2998079
Singh, A., Sharma, A., & Sundaram, S. (2025). Bioremediation of hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) in fluoride contaminated environment by novel bacteria Bacillus albus SSAU-9. Biodegradation, 36(5), 79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-025-10176-8
Tuli, S. R., Ali, M. F., Jamal, T. B., Khan, M. A. S., Fatima, N., Ahmed, I., Khatun, M., Sharmin, S. A. (2024). Characterization and Molecular Insights of a Chromium-Reducing Bacterium Bacillus tropicus. Microorganisms, 12(12), 2633. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12122633
Upadhyay, N., Vishwakarma, K., Singh, J., Mishra, M., Kumar, V., Rani, R., Mishra, R.K., Chauhan, D.K., Tripathi, D.K. and Sharma, S. (2017). Tolerance and reduction of chromium (VI) by Bacillus sp. MNU16 isolated from contaminated coal mining soil. Frontiers in plant science, 8, p.778. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00778
Vos, P., Garrity, G.M., Jones, D., Krieg, N.R., Ludwig, W., Rainey, F.A., Schleifer, K-H. and Whitman W.B. (2009). Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, in: The Firmicutes,(3) 2nd Edition, Vol. 3, Springer-Verlag, New York. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1596633
Zhu Y., He X., Xu J. et al. (2021). Insight into efficient removal of Cr(VI) by magnetite immobilized with Lysinibacillus sp. JLT12: mechanism and performance, Chemosphere. 262, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127901
Zulfiqar, U., Haider, F.U., Ahmad, M., Hussain, S., Maqsood, M.F., Ishfaq, M., Shahzad, B., Waqas, M.M., Ali, B., Tayyab, M.N., Ahmad, S.A., Khan, I. and Eldin, S.M. (2023). Chromium toxicity, speciation, and remediation strategies in soil-plant interface: A critical review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1081624
Acharya, C., Sarangi, A., Rath, S., Mohapatra, R. K., Panda, C. R., & Thatoi, H. (2024). Screening and evaluation of Cr (VI) biosorption potential of metal-resistant bacteria isolated from Sukinda chromite mine soil of Odisha. Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing, 4(1), 203-214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43393-023-00170-7
Adhikary, S., Saha, B. K., Roy, V., Saha, J., & Pal, A. (2025). Deciphering chromate tolerance and reduction ability of an indigenous Bacillus strain isolated from polluted pond sludge for chromium bioremediation. Scientific reports, 15(1), 23323. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejchem.2019.18457.2142
Aththanayake, A. M. K. C. B., Deeyamulla, M. P., Megharaj, M., & Rathnayake, I. V. N. (2025). Biofilm Formation and Detoxification of Hexavalent Chromium by Bacillus subtilis: A Sustainable Approach to Bioremediation. Journal of basic microbiology, 65(6), e70022. https://doi.org/10.1002/jobm.70022
Ayele, A., and Godeto, Y.G. (2021). Bioremediation of chromium by microorganisms and its mechanisms related to functional groups. Journal of Chemistry, 2021(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/7694157
Banerjee, S., Kumar, A., Maiti, S.K. and Chowdhury, A. (2016). Seasonal variation in heavy metal contaminations in water and sediments of Jamshedpur stretch of Subarnarekha River, India. Environmental earth sciences, 75(3), p.265. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-015-4990-6
Basu, M., Bhattacharya, S., and Paul, A.K. (1997). Isolation and characterization of chromium-resistant bacteria from tannery effluents. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 58, 535–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001289900368
Camargo, F.A.O., Bento, F.M., Okeke, B.C., and Frankenberger, W.T. (2003). Chromate reduction by chromium-resistant bacteria isolated from soils contaminated with dichromate. J Environ Qual., 32(4), pp. 1228-33. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2003.1228
Congeevaram, S., Dhanarani, S., Park, J., Dexilin, M., Thamaraiselvi, K. (2007). Biosorption of chromium and nickel by heavy metal resistant fungal and bacterial isolates. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 146(1-2), 270-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.12.017
Farina, M., Avila, D.S., da Rocha, J.B.T. and Aschner, M. (2013). Metals, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: a focus on iron, manganese and mercury. Neurochemistry International, 62(5), 575-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2012.12.006
Ganguli, A. and Tripathi, A.K. (2002). Bioremediation of toxic chromium from electroplating effluent by chromate reducing Pseudomonas aeruginosa A2Chr in two bioreactors. Applied Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 58, 416-420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-001-0871-x
Garg, A., Ali, M., Ahmad, A., Chauhan, P., Kumar, A., Mishra, R., Dubey, V. K., Srivastava, A., Garg, S. K., & Arora, P. K. (2025). Survival tactics of Bacillus licheniformis KNP under hexavalent chromium stress: a study of detoxification and chemotactic responses. Frontiers in microbiology, 16, 1646518. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1646518
Ilias, M., Rafiqullah, I.M., Debnath, B.C., Mannan, K.S. and Hoq, M.M. (2011). Isolation and characterization of chromium (VI)-reducing bacteria from tannery effluents. Indian Journal of Microbiology, 51(1), 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-011-0095-4
Irshad, M.A., Sattar, S., Nawaz, R., Al-Hussain, S.A., Rizwan, M., Bukhari, A., Waseem, M., Irfan, A., Inam, A. and Zaki, M.E.A. (2023). Enhancing chromium removal and recovery from industrial wastewater using sustainable and efficient nanomaterial: a review. Ecotoxicology and Environment Safety, 263, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115231
Kalsoom, A.B., Din, G., Din, S.U., Jamil, J., Hasan, F., Khan, S., Badshah, M. and Shah, A.A. (2021). Isolation and screening of chromium resistant bacteria from industrial waste for bioremediation purposes. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 83, pp. e242536. https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.242536
Kalsoom, K., Din, S. U., Ceylan, E., Hasan, F., Khan, S., Badshah, M., Çanakçi, S., Belduz, A. O., & Shah, A. A. (2025). Cloning and expression of chromate reductase from Bacillus paramycoides S48 for chromium remediation. Scientific reports, 15(1), 18796. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03412-x
Khanam, R., Akter, S., Chakraborty, S., & Mahmud, S. (2026). Molecular Identification of Fungi Isolated From Tannery Wastes and Assessment of Their Chromium Reduction Ability. Environmental Quality Management, 35(3), e70281..
Khanam, R., Al Ashik, S.A., Suriea, U., Mahmud, S. (2024) Isolation of chromium resistant bacteria from tannery waste and assessment of their chromium reducing capabilities–A bioremediation approach. Heliyon,10(6), e27821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27821
Kumar, V. & Dwivedi, S. K. (2019) Hexavalent chromium reduction ability and bioremediation potential of Aspergillus flavus CR500 isolated from electroplating wastewater, Chemosphere, 237, 124567.
Liza, S. A., & Abdulla-Al-Mamun, M. (2025). Microbial degradation of tannery chrome-solid waste using Bacillus thuringiensis: optimization of collagen hydrolysate extraction via response surface methodology. RSC Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00666F
McLean, J., and Beveridge, T.J. (2001). Chromate reduction in Pseudomonad isolated from a site contaminated with chromate copper arsenate, Applied Environmental Microbiology, 67(3), 1076-84. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.67.3.1076-1084.2001
Monga, A., Fulke, A.B. and Dasgupta, D. (2022). Recent developments in essentiality of trivalent chromium and toxicity of hexavalent chromium: implications on human health and remediation strategies. Journal of Hazardous Material Advances, 7, 100113. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HAZADV.2022.100113
Padma, S., Srinivas, B., Ghanta, K. C., & Dutta, S. (2023). Bioremediation of Cr (VI) using indigenous bacterial strains isolated from a common industrial effluent treatment plant in Vishakhapatnam. Water Science & Technology, 88(11), 2889-2904. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2023.358
Paul, D. (2017). Research on heavy metal pollution of river Ganga: A review. Annals of Agrarian Science, 15(2), pp.278-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aasci.2017.04.001
Plestenjak, E., Kraigher, B., Leskovec, S. et al (2022). Reduction of hexavalent chromium using bacterial isolates and a microbial community enriched from tannery effluent. Sci Rep 12, 20197. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24797-z
Ramli, N.N., Othman, A.R., Kurniawan, S.B., Abdullah, S.R.S. and Hasan, H.A. (2023). Metabolic pathway of Cr (VI) reduction by bacteria: A review. Microbiological research, 268, p.127288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2022.127288
Sanjay, M.S., Sudarsanam, D., Antony Raj, G., Baskar, K. (2020). Isolation and identification of chromium reducing bacteria from tannery effluent. Journal of King Saud University - Science, 32(1), 265-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2018.05.001
Saxena, S., Vatwani, S., Singh, S., Singh, A., Singh, Y., Sharma, R.K., Mishra, R. and Arora, S. (2025). Exploring indigenous bacteria in wastewater for sustainable bioremediation for red and blue azodyes decolouration, and chromium (VI) degradation in industrial effluents. Water Practice & Technology, 20(4), 814-825. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2025.036
Shakoori, F.R., Tabassum S., Rehman A. and Shakoori A.R. (2010). Isolation and characterization of Cr6+ reducing bacteria and their potential use in bioremediation of chromium-containing wastewater. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 42, 651-658.
Sharma, P., Singh, S.P., Parakh, S.K. and Tong, Y.W. (2022). Health hazards of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and its microbial reduction. Bioengineered, 13(3), 4923-4938. https://doi.org/10.1080/21655979.2022.2037273
Shekhawat, K., Chatterjee, S., and Joshi, B. (2015). Chromium toxicity and its health hazards. International Journal of Advanced Research, 3(7), 167-172. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2998079
Singh, A., Sharma, A., & Sundaram, S. (2025). Bioremediation of hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) in fluoride contaminated environment by novel bacteria Bacillus albus SSAU-9. Biodegradation, 36(5), 79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-025-10176-8
Tuli, S. R., Ali, M. F., Jamal, T. B., Khan, M. A. S., Fatima, N., Ahmed, I., Khatun, M., Sharmin, S. A. (2024). Characterization and Molecular Insights of a Chromium-Reducing Bacterium Bacillus tropicus. Microorganisms, 12(12), 2633. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12122633
Upadhyay, N., Vishwakarma, K., Singh, J., Mishra, M., Kumar, V., Rani, R., Mishra, R.K., Chauhan, D.K., Tripathi, D.K. and Sharma, S. (2017). Tolerance and reduction of chromium (VI) by Bacillus sp. MNU16 isolated from contaminated coal mining soil. Frontiers in plant science, 8, p.778. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00778
Vos, P., Garrity, G.M., Jones, D., Krieg, N.R., Ludwig, W., Rainey, F.A., Schleifer, K-H. and Whitman W.B. (2009). Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, in: The Firmicutes,(3) 2nd Edition, Vol. 3, Springer-Verlag, New York. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1596633
Zhu Y., He X., Xu J. et al. (2021). Insight into efficient removal of Cr(VI) by magnetite immobilized with Lysinibacillus sp. JLT12: mechanism and performance, Chemosphere. 262, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127901
Zulfiqar, U., Haider, F.U., Ahmad, M., Hussain, S., Maqsood, M.F., Ishfaq, M., Shahzad, B., Waqas, M.M., Ali, B., Tayyab, M.N., Ahmad, S.A., Khan, I. and Eldin, S.M. (2023). Chromium toxicity, speciation, and remediation strategies in soil-plant interface: A critical review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1081624
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Yashvardhini, N., Jha, D., Swarupa, P., Nisha, S., Tanjeem, B., Sinha, A., Azad, G. and Kumar, A. (2026) “Bioremediation Efficacy of Chromium-Resistant Bacterial Isolates from Industrial Effluents at Krishna Ghat and Patliputra Industrial Area, Patna”, International Journal of Advancement in Life Sciences Research, 9(2), pp. 68-77. doi: https://doi.org/10.31632/ijalsr.2026.v09i02.006.
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