Isolation and identification of Methylobacterium komagatae and its application in textile industries

Abstract

A light pink-colored, rod-shaped, gram-negative bacterium isolated from an unproductive crude oil production area was considered as a sample for this study. The 16S rRNA gene sequence identified the isolate as Methylobacterium komagatae. Comparing the standard color measurement values set by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) method confirms the colorant produced by the biomass of this microorganism as a 'light pink' coloration. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and High-Resolution Mass Spectroscopy process help in the structural elucidation of the sample. It indicates the presence of magnesium (Mg) as a central metal atom in the bacterial colorant, i.e., 'bacteriochlorophyll' (BChl) (MgC55H74N4O). The recovered bacterial colorant was applied to cotton fabric and cotton yarns to dye and examine their fastness quality. The result shows the cotton fabrics retained colorant in normal washing while it got reduced after detergent-based washing. Therefore, its fastness quality must be improved to equalize with current colorants.