Ecotoxicological Assessment of Chromium (III) and Mercury (II) Ions on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Kerosene Polluted Ilorin alfisol
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Date
2016
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Faculty of Physical Sciences and Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin Nigeria
Abstract
The effect of the heavy metal solution of different concentrations on P. aeruginosa was studied. Different concentrations of the heavy metal solution (5ppm, 20ppm and 50ppm) were spiked to a fixed volume of P. aeruginosa (broth). The changes on the growth of bacteria were monitored for 5days by measuring the optical density of the mixture at 600nm with spectrophotometer. The study revealed that high concentration of some trace heavy metals like Cr3+ and Hg2+ inhibit the growth of this bacterium. This is shown in the daily growth of the P. aeruginosa which kept reducing with an increase in the concentration of the heavy metals. The reduction was attributed to effect of high concentrations of the heavy metals that was taken up by the P. aeruginosa which is responsible for the observed inhibition of its growth. The potential harmful effect of these heavy metals can be seen from changes in turbidity of P. aeruginosa as the concentration of the heavy metals increases. These effects may also indirectly affect the aquatic animals leading to serious ecotoxicological hazard. Also, owing to the presence of heavy metals and some other pollutants the slight decrease in the growth of P. aeruginosa has been attributed to high concentration of heavy metals as a source of pollutants. Therefore, waste that contain either mercury or chromium as one of the major pollutants if discharged into water bodies without treatment may lead to devastating effects on the ecosystem.
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Keywords
P.aeruginiosa, Heavy mertals, Pollutants, Ecosystem, Spectrophotometer