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.