Bioremediation of Chlorpyrifos-contaminated Soil by Exopolysaccharide, Surfactant and Biofilm Synthesising Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

ABSTRACT: This research paper aims to investigate the ability of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, Bacillus tropicus to degrade chlorpyrifos in soil. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have the ability to degrade various xenobiotic compounds, including pesticides and enhance plant growth. The bacterial isolate DK5 identified as Bacillus tropicus, showed biofilm production, exopolysaccharide synthesis and surfactant analysis under abiotic stress. Chlorpyrifos degradation by DK5 was examined using liquid phase extraction followed by HPLC. In HPLC analysis, DK5 degraded 96.1% of chlorpyrifos within 30 days under laboratory conditions. DK5 can be used for remediation of chlorpyrifos form pesticide contaminated soil. The inoculation of DK5 in pesticide contaminated soil can be a promising bioremediation technique for chlorpyrifos removal.