Molecular Characterization of Iron-Related Bacteria in Ground Water in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Fe (III) compounds which are formed from the oxidation of Fe(II) by iron bacteria precipitates, and forms iron oxides - an extensive orange mats of organic material, which is often found present in the ground water, evident by the rust stain colour seen on almost all the water storage tanks in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Hence, this study characterized iron bacteria diversity in groundwater, which is a major source of drinking water in the state. The aim of this study was to isolate, characterize and ascertain the chlorine tolerance level of iron-related bacteria in groundwater in Yenagoa. The bacteria isolates were identified using standard bacteriological methods.  The genomic DNA extracted from the pure cultures of bacteria was amplified using 16S rRNA universal primer sets. The in-vitro chlorine tolerance test of the isolates was carried out at varying concentrations of 1ppm-1000ppm. Genotypic analysis of the eight suspected iron related bacteria species revealed a close relatedness to Myroides odoratimimus Q11, Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus EB-229, Pseudomonas xiamenensis B13, Shewanella chilikensis B0B2, Janibacter indicus YFY001, Bacillus velezensis, Aeromonas hydrophila subsp. hydrophila JCM3989, and Staphylococcus sciuri SNUDS-18. All eight species of iron related-bacteria identified showed resistance at varying degrees to Chlorine. Pseudomonas xiamenensis was observed to have the highest resistance while Aeromonas hydrophila had the least resistance. Susceptibility of the isolated strains was recorded at a chlorine concentration of 5000ppm. Our findings revealed that iron- related bacteria populate groundwater in Yenagoa