Isolation & identification of marine sediment-derived Bacillus megaterium from Banate Bay, Iloilo and its bioremediation potential for lead

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness and rate of Bioremediation on Heavy Metal Lead (Pb) by <i>Bacillus megaterium </i> derived from the Marine Sediments of Banate Bay, Iloilo, utilized the experimental pretest-posttest design. The sampling site selected was the Banate Bay located on the eastern coast of Panay Island in the municipality of Banate, Iloilo Province. The methodology of this study involves the isolation and identification of different marine bacteria, with <i>Bacillus megaterium</i> utilized as the experimental microorganism, followed by the application of lead chloride to distilled water in beakers. The pretest involves measuring initial lead concentration before inoculation and the posttest, in which the distilled water is then inoculated with <i>Bacillus megaterium,</i> incubated for 72 hours, with a control flask incubated simultaneously, and measuring their final lead concentration. The researchers employed <i>silico</i> analysis and in <i>vitro</i> assays to determine the bioremediation potential of marine-derived bacteria. The experimental group showed a consistently high level of loss percentage, with percentages of 67.5%, 69.1%, and 69.1% across the three replicates. These percentages indicate significant losses, indicating effective absorption compared to the negligible loss percentages of the controlled group.