Biodecolorization of Textile Azo Dyes and Phytotoxicity Assessment of Metabolites by Bacillus subtilis CKCC

Synthetic azo dyes are widely used in the textile industry; however, their use often poses environmental challenges. Here, we characterized the compost bacterium Bacillus subtilis strain CKCC for the decolorization of various azo dyes, including Congo Red, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Green 19, Reactive Red 120, and Reactive Blue 4. The application of strain CKCC exhibited high decolorization efficiency by utilizing various extracellular enzymes, including azoreductase and ligninolytic enzymes such as laccase, lignin peroxidase, and manganese peroxidase, which are essential for the decolorization of azo dyes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed structural changes during decolorization, consistent with the degradation of key functional groups. This transformation was attributed to the cleavage of azo linkages by azoreductase, with ligninolytic enzymes functioning on phenolic and aromatic moieties. While FTIR confirmed these structural changes, our findings only provided insights at the functional-group level, and the presence or absence of specific decolorized metabolites, such as aromatic amines, requires additional analytical techniques. In this study, the phytotoxic metabolites positively affected the germination and growth of Vigna radiata, confirming that decolorization using strain CKCC significantly reduced the toxic properties of the metabolites produced during dye decolorization. Hence, our isolated strain CKCC offers a potentially effective and environmentally sustainable method for treating azo-dye effluent in the textile industry.