ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Suman Patil and S.K. Sarangi
1Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology Jnana Bharathi, Bangalore University, Bangalore – 560 056, India.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2013;7(2):1471-1474
© The Author(s). 2013
Received: 03/10/2012 | Accepted: 15/11/2012 | Published: 30/06/2013
Abstract

Gold tailings have high amount of toxic chemicals. Active cyanide is one of the most toxic chemicals found in the tailing samples. Cyanide is used as a laxiviant in Gold extraction, which helps in dissolution of Gold. Some amount of cyanide is left in the effluent after the extraction process. Inspite of being chemically treated before it is released into the environment,   some active cyanide remain in the effluent, which are toxic to flora and fauna in that area. An attempt was made to isolate bacteria and fungi growing in these toxic Gold tailing samples. In the present study bacteria and fungi were isolated and identified and their efficiency to grow in toxic gold tailing samples are analyzed through their ability to degrade cyanide. The results can be exploited in the usefulness of these microorganisms in the biodegradation of cyanide.

Keywords

Gold tailings, Bacteria, Fungi, Cyanide, Biodegradation, M9 minimal media

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