“Isolation And Characterisation of Nickel-Tolerant Indigenous Bacteria And Its Effect On Chickpea Growth Parameters Under Nickel Stress”

Modernisation of mankind without causing a disturbance to the ecosystem and the environment has become a herculean task in the present scenario. One major cause of ecological disturbance is heavy metal pollution, due to anthropogenic activities which is affecting the ecosystem. The present study focuses on heavy metal pollution by Nickel. Nickel is an essential micronutrient for plants, responsible for seed germination, seedling growth, activity of enzyme urease and for the activation of the enzyme, glyoxylase. However, increased concentration is toxic to plants. Few places nearby Visakhapatnam were identified where Nickel has polluted the soil. 9 different bacteria were isolated from these soils, among which S1 was found to be Ni-tolerant indigenous bacteria. 99.18% of this bacterial sequence was identified to be in closest proximity with Bacillus cereus. Two cultivars of chickpea (ICCV10102-resistant and ICCV93952-susceptible) were found to improve their growth parameters under Ni stress in the presence of this bacteria.