Brevibacillus sp. KUMAs2, a bacterial isolate for possible bioremediation of arsenic in rhizosphere

• An As resistant isolate, Brevibacillus sp. KUMAs2 was isolated and characterized.
• The As resistant feature was found to be plasmid-borne.
• It could remove ~40 percent of As under aerobic culture condition.
• It could also decrease the As accumulation in plant parts upon root colonization.

Arsenic (As) contamination of soil and water has been considered as a major global environmental issue during last few decades. Among the various methods so far reported for reclamation of As contaminated rhizosphere soil, bioremediation using bacteria has been found to be most promising. An As resistant bacterial isolate Brevibacillus sp. KUMAs2 was obtained from As contaminated soil of Nadia, West Bengal, India, which could resist As(V) and As(III) a maximum of 265 mM and 17 mM, respectively. The strain could remove ~40 percent As under aerobic culture conditions. As resistant property in KUMAs2 was found to be plasmid-borne, which carried both As oxidizing and reducing genes. The strain could promote chilli plant growth under As contaminated soil environment by decreasing As accumulation in plant upon successful colonization in the rhizosphere, which suggests the possibility of using this isolate for successful bioremediation of As in the crop field.