Microbiology, Antibiotics and Public Health

international lead on degradation and detoxification of melanoidins of post methanated distillery effluent (PMDE) and chloro-lignin compounds of pulp and paper

mill waste. He has published more than 120 original research papers in peer review journals, 06 books, 32 book chapters, and several technical reports. He has

completed 25 major research projects. He is fellows of several scientific societies including Association of Microbiologists of India, The Biotech Research Society,

India and The Academy of Environmental Biology, India. His research interests include bioremediation and biodegradation.

Sugarcane-molasses-based distillery waste is well known for its toxicity and complex mixture of various recalcitrant

organic pollutants, but the chemical nature of these pollutants is unknown. Distilleries release 12 to 15 liters of

spent wash per liter of alcohol produced. Currently, there are more than 319 distilleries in India, reflecting the

magnitude of the problem due to the presence of various complex pollutants in anaerobically digested distillery

waste. This study revealed the presence of toxic organic acids (butanedioic acid bis(TMS)ester; 2-hydroxysocaproic

acid; benzenepropanoic acid, and other recalcitrant organic pollutants (2-furancarboxylic acid, 5-[[(TMS)oxy]

methyl], TMS ester; and tricarballylic acid 3TMS, dodecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, n-pentadecanoic acid,

hexadecanoic acid, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol trimethyl ether, heptacosane, dotriacontane, lanosta-8,

24-dien-3-one, 1-methylene-3-methyl butanol, 1-phenyl-1-propanol, 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl) cycohexanol,

and 2-ethylthio-10-hydroxy-9-methoxy-1,4 anthraquinone which are listed as endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In

addition, several major heavy metals were detected, including Fe (163.947), Mn (4.556), Zn (2.487), and Ni (1.175

mg l−1). Bacterial community analysis by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) revealed that Bacillus,

Stenotrophomonas and Enterococcus were dominant autochthonous bacterial communities belonging to the phylum

Firmicutes and γ-Proteobacteria. The presence of Bacillus Stenotrophomonas and Enterococcus species in highly toxic

environments indicated its broad range adaptation. These findings indicated that these autochthonous bacterial

communities were pioneer taxa for in situ remediation of this hazardous waste during ecological succession. Further,

a toxicity evaluation showed a reduction of toxicity in degraded samples of distillery waste, confirming the role of

autochthonous bacterial communities in the bioremediation of distillery waste in situ.