Chromium (VI) tolerance in two halotolerant strains of Nostoc

The present study reports on chromium (VI) tolerance of two cyanobacterial strains Nostoc linckia and Nostoc spongiaeforme isolated from salt affected soils using uni-algal and bi-algal systems. Besides distinct halophilism, the two strains exhibited remarkable tolerance to chromium (VI) and revealed 1.2 to 2.8 times more chlorophyll in the presence of the metal. While phycobilins and carotenoids also increased in Nostoc linckia with total dissolved salts (TDS) as well as metal, a decline was observed in Nostoc spongiaeforme in the presence of Cr (VI). Relative algal biomass (as % of control) showed significantly higher values (123-239) in Nostoc linckia in the presence of salt, metal and combination of the two. In Nostoc spongiaeforme it declined in the presence of metal (72-81) but increased in the presence of salts (143-249) and also in the binary systems (121-440). The bi-algal consortium showed relatively less tolerance to salt and metal stress. Nostoc linckia (20 day culture) showed upto 40% chromium removal whereas Nostoc spongiaeforme showed up to 12% removal, indicating greater suitability of the former for use in bioremediation studies.