TITLE:
Analysis of Midgut Bacterial Community Structure of Neanthes chilkaensis from Polluted Mudflats of Gorai, Mumbai, India
AUTHORS:
Anoop R. Markande, Aram Mikaelyan, Binaya Bhusan Nayak, Ketan D. Patel, Niyati B. Vachharajani, Alagarsamy Vennila, Kooloth Valappil Rajendran, Chandra S. Purushothaman
KEYWORDS:
Deposit Feeder, Polycheate, Nereid, Anthropogenic Stress, Gut Microbiota, Biosurfactant
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.13,
October
14,
2014
ABSTRACT: Adaptation of
microbial communities to anthropogenic stress has often been shown to involve
reduction in diversity and in selective enrichment of species capable of
survival. The gut bacterial community of pollution-stressed polychaete Neanthes
chilkaensis was studied using cultivation dependent and independent
approaches. The possible role of the gut bacteria in remediation of pollutants
was also studied. The analysis of clones covering about 90% of the 16S rRNA
clone library indicated that the majority of the taxa in the library resemble
GenBank entries of aromatic- hydrocarbon pollutant degraders. Among them Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were dominant. About 84% of the gut isolates were
capable of utilizing PAHs as sole carbon sources while 20% of isolates were
found to produce biosurfactants. Production of surfactant along with capability
to utilize PAH and other pollutants indicate the role of the gut community in
alleviating the pollution stress. The results also show the potential source of
microorganisms with industrial and environmental application.