Molecular characterization of marine bacterial isolates of Visakhapatnam coast—efficacy in dye decolorization and bioremediation of cadmium

BACKGROUND: Microbial community is one of the diversified communities of the marine environment. Studies have shown that microorganisms isolated from the marine environment are metabolically active and have adapted to life in the ocean. The marine microorganisms use various survival strategies to combat heavy metal stress and decolorization of various textile dyes, thus playing an important role in the bioremediation of cadmium and degradation of textile dyes. The present study deals with the isolation and 16S rRNA molecular characterization of M3 and M8 bacterial strains isolated from marine water samples collected from Visakhapatnam harbor. M3 and M8 isolates were also checked for their efficacy in the removal of cadmium and decolorization of various textile dyes from the environment. RESULTS: The water sample was subjected to tube dilution method to isolate bacterial strains, and ten different isolates were screened. The biochemical tests were performed for the isolates to prove their validity and 16S rRNA molecular sequencing and phylogenetic analysis for species identification. Out of interest, two bacterial strains, namely, M3 and M8 were subjected to 16S rRNA molecular sequencing and phylogenetic analysis and were identified as Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas resinovorans. The two bacterial strains showed promising dye degradation property when checked with nine different textile dyes of wavelength ranging from 400 to 600 nm and removal of cadmium from the growth medium. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates the isolates M3 and M8 to be potential strains having dye decolorization and bioremediation of cadmium applications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43141-021-00189-0.