Decolorization potential of malachite green by Ralstonia mannitolilytica isolated from Indonesian cassava-based fermented food tapai.

Pollution due to textile dye effluent mishandling is hazardous to ecosystems and to the living beings inhabiting them. This can cause retarded photosynthesis, disrupted fish day/night cycles, unbalanced bacterial populations, and decreased oxygen concentration in contaminated water, leading to low habitability. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize the microorganisms found in Indonesian cassava-based fermented food tapai starter cultures as a source of potential microbes for the biological remediation of textile dye pollutants. Microorganisms in the tapai starter culture were screened for their decolorization activity via spread-culture inoculation on a solid growth medium supplemented with textile dyes. Isolated microorganisms were selected based on their ability to secrete textile dye-decolorizing extracellular enzymes via increased light penetration after incubation of the cell-free supernatant (CFS) containing extracellular enzymes in textile dye solutions. Isolate JSP1 was the only bacterium capable of producing malachite green (MG)-decolorizing extracellular enzymes, which enabled it to survive and decolorize MG up to 375 ppm. Moreover, isolate JSP1 CFS was able to optimally decolorize 75% of MG at 100 ppm, but its activity was diminished at concentrations > 350 ppm. Colony and cellular morphology, biochemistry, and 16S rRNA tests revealed that the isolate was of Ralstonia mannitolilytica. Therefore, R. mannitolilytica isolate JSP1 may be a potential bioremediation agent for MG.