The Use of Mercury-Resistant Bacteria to Enhance Phytoremediation of Soil Contaminated with Small-scale Gold Mine Tailing
2020
Reni Ustiatik, Siska Nurfitriani, Amrullah Fiqri and Eko Handayanto
In the phytoremediation process, there is an interaction between plants and microorganisms in the soil. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of mercury-resistant bacteria on phytoremediation of soil contaminated with small-scale gold mine tailings that contain mercury. Two isolates of mercury resistant bacteria (Brevundimonas vesicularis and Nitrococcus mobilis) were applied to Paspalum conjugatum as a mercury accumulator plant that was grown for 70 days on gold mine tailing-contaminated soil. Ammonium thiosulfate was used as a chelating agent to stimulate mercury extraction by the plant. After P. conjugatum was harvested (60 days), the remaining soil in the pot was planted with maize until the maximum vegetative period. The results showed that the application of mercury-resistant bacteria and ammonium thiosulfate increased 157-162% of P. conjugatum biomass compared to that without the application of mercury-resistant bacteria. The application of mercury-resistant bacteria with ammonium thiosulfate in soil phytoremediation with P. conjugatum reduced 18% and 20% mercury content in the soil contaminated with small-scale gold mine tailings containing mercury. The decrease in mercury content in the soil due to the application of B. vesicularis and N. mobilis in soil phytoremediation with P. conjugatum increased biomass production of a maize plant by 131% and 145%, respectively.
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