Isolation and growth kinetic studies of novel isolates from Indian Ocean nodules

Abstract

Marine isolates from sea nodules can be worthy catalysts to explore the possibilities of faster bioleaching of low index ocean nodules mined from Indian Ocean. The native microbes were isolated from Indian Ocean Nodules in Artificial Sea water Nutrient Broth at pH 7.0. Organisms have been found to tolerate up to 7% salt concentration. These species were found to be typically elongated gram positive bacilli and having a good generation time (0.7-1.3 h). The faster growth kinetics was found to useful in sequential adaptation on various metal concentrations. Both species exhibited good resistance towards 1000 ppm Ni (II) concentration; whereas resistance towards Cu(II) and Co(II) could only been seen at a metal concentration of 100 ppm thereby proving their efficacy in metallurgical applications.