Bioremediation using an Antarctic microbial consortium for wastewater treatment

Efficient biotechnological processes are necessary in environments impacted by toxic compounds to reduce environmental impacts. Microorganisms from cold environments have been drawing attention due to the characteristics of synthesizing enzymes at low temperatures. We evaluated the production of enzymes and the discoloration of dyes to develop a microbial consortium recovered from sediments from maritime Antarctica. A total of 40 bacteria and 24 fungi were evaluated. Eleven bacteria (27.5%) produced protease, 13 (32.5%) amylase activities. Nine (37.5%) fungi produced cellulase, lipase, and ligninase. The highest Enzymatic Index for protease (4.1), lipase (1.8), and amylase (4.88) were detected for <italic>Cladosporium</italic> sp. (FAR18) and a bacterium (BAD38), respectively. Four bacteria and one fungus were submitted to urban and industrial effluent discoloration assay. <italic>Psychrobacter</italic> sp. BAD 12, <italic>Exiguobacterium oxidotolerans</italic> BAD 40, and <italic>Cladosporium</italic> sp. FAR 18 displayed the highest discoloration values for textile effluent. In addition, <italic>E. oxidotolerans</italic> BAD 40 was able to discolor domestic effluent by a 0.76% reduction. The highest value of discoloration of the textile effluent by the microbial consortium was 12.06% after five days. Results indicate that bacteria and fungi from the Antarctic continent may represent an alternative to bioremediation processes in cold environments contaminated with industrial and/or urban effluents.