Enumeration of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Producing Bacteria from Dairy Sewage Samples

Aims: The synthetic polymer plastics have become an integral part of contemporary life. Excess use of plastics and indiscriminate dumping of it in soil and water is polluting the environment. In order to overcome this problem, the production and applications of eco-friendly biodegradable products from microbes are becoming inevitable from the last decade and also are the good alternatives for synthetic polymers.

Methods and Results: Polyhydroxyalkanoate producing bacterial strains were confirmed by serial dilution of sewage samples from dairies and pour plating using modified nutrient agar medium with 2% glucose and 0.3% sudan black. Commercial dairy sewage sample from III Dairy showed highest count of PHA producers (3.80 log10cfu/ml) followed by II Dairy (3.68 log10cfu/ml) and I Dairy (3.35 log10cfu/ml). On an average, 70 per cent were PHA producers among TBC of sewage samples.

Conclusion: Dairy sewage sample from III Dairy showed highest count of PHA producers (3.80log10cfu/ml)

Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides importance of polyhydroxyalkanoates and their role against synthetic plastic by enumerating the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) producing bacteria from Dairy sewage samples that can be effectively utilized for the synthesis of bioplastics.