Characterization of bacterial diversity and assessing the cyanide biodegradation potential of bacterial isolates from gold processing plants

Abstract

Cyanide is the basic component of many industrial processes, among which is gold processing, being very toxic or even lethal. Treatment, with the help of microorganisms, can be used effectively to reduce the load of harmful chemicals into the environment. The combination of microbiological methods and molecular tools allowed inferring the presence of a dominant population and the composition varied both in the places of origin and in the method used. The dominant phylogenetic affiliations of the bacteria were determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. The isolates identified, as Bacillus and Enterococcus were capable to degrade 41.9 and 27.5 mg CN- L-1 respectively. This study provides information about the presence of a diverse bacterial community associated with residual effluents from cyanidation processes in Colombia and suggests that their presence could play a role in the biological degradation of cyanide compounds, offering an alternative for mining wastewater treatment.

Keywords

• Cyanide
• Bacterial diversity
• TTGE
• Gold processing plants
• 16S rRNA gene