Isolation and morphological characterization of bacteria
A total of 77 bacterial isolates from different contaminated soil and water samples were isolated by serial dilution method, morphologically characterized and tested for tolerance against arsenic (Table S1). All the bacteria obtained from contaminated samples tested for growth condition and the optimum temperature for growth was 37°C, while optimum time to grow ranged from 12 to 48 h. In addition to this colony color was recorded from white to yellow to brown, and colony shape was generally round with pointed at end, sometimes irregular and colony thread-like size ranged from 0.01 to 1 cm; surface smooth or rough and elevation was either flat or convex or raised. A total to 16 different morphotypes obtained from contaminated samples showed tolerance against arsenic.