Biodegradation has been proven as the most efficient, eco-friendly and cost-effective technique for the removing of complex organic matters such as textile dyes from wastewater effluents. Some environmentally friend bacterial strains play an important role in such field. Acid red 337, an azo dye used extensively in textile industry, was reported as hazardous recalcitrant, when released into the aqueous environment. In the present research, a potential bacterial strain, capable of degrading acid red 337 (AR 337) dye was isolated from a textile wastewater effluent. Using 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the bacterium was identified as Bacillus megaterium KY848339.1. The decolorization capability of B. megaterium for AR 337 dye was optimized; the bacterium could remove 91% of dye concentration of 500 mg L −1 within 24 h when the inoculum size was 10% wt./v, solution pH was 7 and the incubation temperature was 30°C. The Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrum (LC-MS) analysis indicated the degradation of AR 337 azo dye by B. megaterium, to small aliphatic compounds and CO 2 . The application of B. megaterium on wastewater contaminated with red dyes using 10% wt./v of bacterial cells concentration was resulted in 98.9% removing of red color through 10 days.

We recently isolated a Pseudomonas sp. strain W15Feb9B from Ochlockonee River, Florida and demonstrated potent biodegradative activity against two commonly used pesticides - Alachlor [(2-chloro-2′,6′-diethylphenyl-N (methoxymethyl)acetanilide)] and Endosulfan [(6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9methano-2,3,4-benzo(e)di-oxathiepin-3-oxide], respectively. To further identify the repertoire of metabolic functions possessed by strain W15Feb9B, a draft genome sequence was obtained, assembled, annotated and analyzed. The genome sequence of strain 2385 has been deposited in GenBank under accession number JTKF00000000; BioSample number SAMN03151543. The sequences obtained from strain 2385 assembled into 192 contigs with a genome size of 6,031,588, G + C content of 60.34, and 5512 total number of putative genes. RAST annotated a total of 542 subsystems in the genome of strain W15Feb9B along with the presence of 5360 coding sequences. A genome wide survey of strain W15Feb9B indicated that it has the potential to degrade several other pollutants including atrazine, caprolactam, dioxin, PAHs (such as naphthalene) and several chloroaromatic compounds.

We recently isolated Micrococcus sp. strain 2385 from Ochlockonee River, Florida and demonstrated potent biodegradative activity against two commonly used pesticides-alachlor [(2-chloro-2`,6`-diethylphenyl-N (methoxymethyl)acetanilide)] and endosulfan [(6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9methano-2,3,4-benzo(e)di-oxathiepin-3-oxide], respectively. To further identify the repertoire of metabolic functions possessed by strain 2385, a draft genome sequence was obtained, assembled, annotated and analyzed. The genome sequence of Micrococcus sp. strain 2385 consisted of 1,460,461,440 bases which assembled into 175 contigs with an N50 contig length of 50,109 bases and a coverage of 600x. The genome size of this strain was estimated at 2,431,226 base pairs with a G+C content of 72.8 and a total number of 2,268 putative genes. RAST annotated a total of 340 subsystems in the genome of strain 2385 along with the presence of 2,177 coding sequences. A genome wide survey indicated that that strain 2385 harbors a plethora of genes to degrade other pollutants including caprolactam, PAHs (such as naphthalene), styrene, toluene and several chloroaromatic compounds.

M UNICIPAL sewage, septic tanks, fertilizers, animal feedlots and irrigation wastewater are the common sources of groundwater pollution in rural areas. Sedimentation pools of wastewater treatment plants are possibly suggested to be another source of pollution. Two wastewater treatment plants located at Qalyubia governorate named Qalyub (QWTP) and Shubra Al-khayma (SHWTP) were selected to carry out the present study; two samples from influent and effluent were collected seasonally from both plants. Furthermore, 6 groundwater samples were collected from nearby rural houses of both plants. The physicochemical and microbiological properties were evaluated for all samples. Moreover, Box-PCR for 12 strains isolated from wastewater and groundwater at Qalyub district was carried out. Water quality assessment studies proven that the effectiveness of the two wastewater treatment plants under investigation is questionable, especially QWTP. The percentages of removing of TSS, COD, BOD, ammonia, total coliform and fecal coliform counts were 87, 74, 88, 66, 94 and 89%, respectively, for QWTP, and 85, 89, 93, 86, 94 and 83%, respectively, for SHWTP. The groundwater at Qalyub district was contaminated with Mn, Fe, ammonia, BOD, coliform bacteria, fecal streptococci, E. coli, Aerumonas hydrophilla and Pseudomonas aeruginosea, while the groundwater at Shubra Al-khayma district was contaminated with Mn, coliform bacteria, fecal streptococci and P. aeruginosea. Microbial and chemical evaluation of groundwater, as well as, Box-PCR results proven that, the contamination of the tested groundwater might be of other source than water treatment plants.

Aims: Calcium carbonate is a biomineral whose precipitation could be mediated by ureolytic bacteria and contributes in strengthening of sandy soils. The type of bacteria and grade of reagents have significant influence on microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP). In the present study, factorial experiments based on these two factors were designed to determine their potential on MICP process, taking into consideration the economic advantages while giving quality results as well. Methods and Results: For the first time, Alkalibacterium iburiense strain EE1 (GenBank accession no. MF355369.1) is reported for its biogrouting activity. Optimum growth conditions for MICP treatments were pH (9Á56 AE 0Á021), EC (44Á7 AE 0Á057 mS cm −1 ), OD 600 (2Á04 AE 0Á015), NH 4+ concentration (487Á06 AE 1Á021 mmol l −1 ), and urease activity (20Á0 AE 0Á75 mmol l −1 urea hydrolysed min −1 ) after 72-h incubation. Statistical analysis comparing the growth in technical-grade medium prepared in tap water and analytical-grade medium prepared in deionized water showed no significant differences (P = 1Á0) in biomass and urease activity. In contrast to previous studies, the current approach could reduce the bacterial culture and cementation solution ratio by about 50%, using a simple surface percolation method with staged injection instead of parallel injection to treat different sand columns. Using fixation solution could immobilize the bacteria over the full length of columns for better strength improvement. The unconfined compressive strength ranged between 0Á64 to 2Á11 kg cm −2 , and the corresponding CaCO 3 contents 5Á7-38Á5%. The scanning electron microscope images indicated that the precipitated CaCO 3 by bacteria was stable calcite. Conclusions: Alkalibacterium iburiense and technical-grade reagents under nonsterile conditions are satisfactory consolidating agents for sandy soils.Significance and Impact of the Study: This approach is considered ecofriendly and cost-effective for future scale-up applications in various geotechnical engineering.