Environmental pollution by oil-based paint
effluents is of great concern nowadays due to widespread
applications of oil-based paints that cause discharge and
accidental spillages into the environment. The present
study sought to explore the potential use of indigenous
bacterial isolates for biodegradation of oil-based paints.
The oil-based-paint-biodegrading potential of three
Bacillus
species isolated from paint-polluted soil samples of
different paint warehouses was investigated by the enumeration,
screening and taxonomic characterization of oilbased-
paint-degrading bacteria using soil enrichment
technique in mineral salt medium (MSM). The screened
isolates were identified based on morphological, biochemical
and 16S rRNA gene sequence homology methods.
The bioremediation potential of each bacterial isolate
was determined for a period of 14 days at 37 °C and
160 rpm in 250-ml shake flask containing 100 ml MSM
plus oil paint (final conc. 300 ppm, w/v). The percent
removal of oil-based paint was determined against a standard
curve of oil-based paint prepared by using UV–Vis
spectrophotometer at 285 nm (λ Max.). Three bacterial
isolates,
Bacillus subtilis
strain NAP1 (GenBank:
KJ872852),
B. subtilis strain NAP2 (GenBank: KJ872853)
and
B. subtilis strain NAP4 (GenBank: KJ872855) were
isolated and identified. All the isolated strains were characterized
as potential oil-based paint degraders. Maximum
oil-based paint removal was recorded with strains NAP1
(66.5 %), followed by NAP2 (61.4 %) and NAP4
(55.9 %). The oil-based-paint-polluted environments are a
promising source of oil-based-paint-degrading bacteria.
The bacterial isolates of present study offer substantial
potential for future environmental applications.
