ABSTRACT
298In textile industries, reactive dyes are extensively used, which are recalcitrant xenobiotic compounds causing a serious damage to the environment. In our study, 85 yeasts were isolated from different sources collected from various regions of the Telangana State, India. The isolates were morphologically, culturally, and biochemically identified as Saccharomyces species, Candida krusei, and two unidentified strains. Among the 85 yeast strains, only 5 strains were able to degrade 2 textile reactive dyes, namely Reactive Red 4 and Reactive Green 19 at a concentration of 100 mgl−1 within 36 h of incubation. The experiments were carried out to determine some parameters such as decolorization, pH, temperature, and initial dye concentration. Saccharomyces species (OHB11) was highly efficient toward two reactive dyes tested, Reactive Red 4 and Reactive Green 19, demonstrating the potential as a biological agent for the treatment of textile effluent. The decolorization was ranging from 70–90%. Complete decolorization was observed within 12 and 16 h depending on the inoculum size, temperatures (40 °C), and pH (5.0).
