Assessment of Acrylamide Degradation Potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa BAC-6 Isolated from Industrial Effluent.

Acrylamide finds diverse industrial applications but is considered an environmental
threat because of its neurotoxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects. Certain bacteria enzymatically
degrade acrylamide to acrylic acid and ammonia. The present investigationwas carried out to isolate
and identify an acrylamide-degrading bacterium from industrial effluent. Bacterial growth and extent
of acrylamide degradation in the presence of different acrylamide concentrations, nutrients, varied
range of pH, and temperature were analyzed.Among the eight acrylamide-degrading isolates, isolate
BAC-6 demonstrated the highest degradation, and based upon the partial 16S rDNA sequencing, it
was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa BAC-6 grew over a wide range of
acrylamide concentrations, but the highest degradationwas recorded at 500 mg/L concentrationwith
concomitant cell growth. Among the carbon supplements, mannitol supported the highest growth
and degradation. Maximum degradation was reported at neutral pH. A mesophilic temperature
range (25–40 °C) facilitated conducive bacterial growth followed by degradation. The highest
degradation and bacterial growth were observed at 30 and 35 °C, respectively. Thus, it could be inferred from the present investigation that cultural conditions strongly affected the degradation
potential of P. aeruginosa BAC-6 and advocated the utilization of the isolate in bioremediation of
sites polluted with acrylamide.