Degradation of Reactive Black 5 dye by a newly isolated bacterium Pseudomonas entomophila BS1

The textile and dye industries are considered as one of the major sources of environmental pollution. The present study was conducted to investigate the degradation of the azo dye Reactive Black 5 (RB 5) using a bacterium isolated from soil samples collected around a textile industry. The bacterial strain BS1 capable of degrading RB 5 was isolated and identified as Pseudomonas entomophila on the basis of 16S rDNA sequencing. The effects of different parameters on the degradation of RB 5 were studied to find out the optimal conditions required for maximum degradation, which was 93% after 120 h of incubation. Static conditions with pH in the range of 5-9 and a temperature of 37 °C were found to be optimum for degrading RB 5. Enzyme assays demonstrated that P. entomophila possessed azoreductase, which played an important role in degradation. The enzyme was dependent on flavin mononucleotide and NADH for its activity. Furthermore, a possible degradation pathway of the dye was proposed through gas chromatography - mass spectrometry analysis, which revealed that the metabolic products were naphthalene-1,2-diamine and 4-(methylsulfonyl) aniline. Thus the ability of this indigenous bacterial isolate for simultaneous decolorization and degradation of the azo dye signifies its potential application for treatment of industrial wastewaters containing azo dyes.