Isolation and characterization of a solvent tolerant alkaliphilic marine bacteria

Organic solvents are extremely toxic to microbial cells even at very low concentration of 0.1% (v/v). They disrupt the bacter ial cell membrane, affecting the functional and structural integrity of the cells. However some microorganisms are known to tolerate highly toxic chemicals and hold potential for application in industrial production of toxic chemicals. Majority of the reported solvent tolerant bacteria are Gram negative. Here we report the isolation of a Gram positive bacterium capable of tolerating various organic solvents. The bacteria was identified as Lysinibacillus fusiformis and it showed tolerance to both aromatic and aliphatic solvents with maximum tolerance for acetone, benzene and octane and minimum tolerance towards dichloromethane. Bacteria showed maximum growth at 45 0 C, pH 10.0 and tolerated up to 800mM of NaCl.