Isolation and characterization of microorganisms capable of decolorizing various triphenylmethane dyes.

Various soil and sludge samples collected from the vicinity of textile dyeing industries and waste disposal sites were used for enrichment of microbial population in the presence of triphenylmethane (TPM) dye Acid Violet-17 (AV-17). Twenty-five (25) isolates were screened for their ability to decolorize AV-17 dye added at a rate of 10 mgl(-1) in mineral salts medium (MSM) agar plates. Five bacterial isolates belonging to Bacillus sp., Alcaligenes sp. and Aeromonas sp. were selected on the basis of their higher decolorization ability and were used to develop a bacterial consortium. The consortium was able to efficiently decolorize various TPM dyes viz. Acid Violet-17 (86%), Acid Blue-15 (85%), Crystal Violet (82%), Malachite Green (82%) and Brilliant Green (85%). The consortium will be further used for designing efficient and cost effective treatment system for effluents of textile processing industries (TPI).