In this work, a temporal monitoring work for heavy metals from an effluent discharge point in
the Juru Industrial Estate was carried out using the protease extracted from garlic (Allium
sativum) as the principal bioassay system. casein-Coomassie-dye binding assay method has
utilized this purpose. The periodic sampling results for one day of a location in the Juru
Industrial Estate showed temporal variation of copper concentration coinciding with garlic
protease inhibition with the highest concentrations of copper occurring between 12.00 and 16.00
hours of between 3 and 3.5 mg/L copper. The crude proteases extracted from Allium sativum
successfully detect temporal variation of copper form this location. In conclusion, this assay
method has the potential to be a rapid, sensitive, and economic inhibitive assay for the largescale
biomonitoring works for the heavy metal copper from this area.
Acrylamide is a synthetic monomer that has been classified as toxic and carcinogenic apart
from its diverse application in the industry. Its application is in the formation of
polyacrylamide. Polyacrylamide usage is diverse and is found as herbicide formulation, as soil
treatment agent and in water treatment plants. Deaths and sickness due to the accidental
exposure to acrylamide have been reported while chronic toxicity is also a source of the
problem. This review highlighted the toxic effect of acrylamide to various organisms like
human, animal and plant. This review also discusses on the potential use of biological
technologies to remediate acrylamide pollution in the environment and the degradation
pathways these microorganisms utilize to assimilate acrylamide as a nitrogen, carbon or both as
carbon and nitrogen sources.
The presence of both heavy metals and organic xenobiotic pollutants in a contaminated site
justifies the application of either a multitude of microbial degraders or microorganisms having
the capacity to detoxify a number of pollutants at the same time. Molybdenum is an essential
heavy metal that is toxic to ruminants at a high level. Ruminants such as cow and goats
experience severe hypocuprosis leading to scouring and death at a concentration as low as
several parts per million. In this study, a molybdenum-reducing bacterium with amide-degrading
capacity has been isolated from contaminated soils. The bacterium, using glucose as the best
electron donor reduces molybdenum in the form of sodium molybdate to molybdenum blue. The
maximal pH reduction occurs between 6.0 and 6.3, and the bacterium showed an excellent
reduction in temperatures between 25 and 40 oC. The reduction was maximal at molybdate
concentrations of between 15 and 25 mM. Molybdenum reduction incidentally was inhibited by
several toxic heavy metals. Other carbon sources including toxic xenobiotics such as amides
were screened for their ability to support molybdate reduction. Of all the amides, only
acrylamide can support molybdenum reduction. The other amides; such as acetamide and
propionamide can support growth. Analysis using phylogenetic analysis resulted in a tentative
identification of the bacterium as Pseudomonas sp. strain 135. This bacterium is essential in
remediating sites contaminated with molybdenum, especially in agricultural soil co-contaminated
with acrylamide, a known soil stabilizer.