Differential expression of antioxidant enzymes under arsenic stress in <i>Enterobacter</i> sp.

Abstract

Arsenic is a major contaminating heavy metal due to its frequent occurrence and toxicity. Out of different remediation approaches, bioremediation using bacteria has been extensively studied. In this study, 29 bacterial isolates were screened for their arsenic tolerance capacity. One of the isolate, MUM2 showed maximum arsenic tolerance (10mM). Antioxidant enzymes were assayed in this isolate under arsenic stress. Although, the CAT activity was found to increase significantly, the SOD activity showed a significant decrease under 9mM arsenic stress. The results obtained suggest a possible role of CAT in combating arsenic stress. Further studies at genetic level would help in developing highly tolerant strains for remediation of arsenic. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 1642–1645, 2016