Isolation and Diversity Analysis of Heavy Metal-Tolerant Bacteria from Ganga River Across Seasonal Gradients

Isolation and Diversity Analysis of Heavy Metal-Tolerant Bacteria from Ganga River Across Seasonal Gradients | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Isolation and Diversity Analysis of Heavy Metal-Tolerant Bacteria from Ganga River Across Seasonal Gradients vani sharma, Shruti Shukla, Swati Swati, Aditya Sheershwal, Bhavya Trivedi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7921720/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Ganga River, a vital water resource in India, faces significant challenges due to increasing pollution, particularly from heavy metals. The present study explores the bacterial diversity and heavy metal tolerance of microorganisms in the Ganga River at Haridwar. Water samples were collected from four locations (Bhimgoda, Kankhal, Prem Nagar, and Jwalapur) during three seasons (monsoon, winter, and summer). Physio-chemical parameters, including pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and biochemical oxygen demand, were analyzed, revealing notable seasonal and spatial variations. Heavy metal-tolerant bacteria were isolated and characterized using morphological, biochemical, and molecular techniques. Fifteen bacterial strains were identified, including Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Delftia tsuruhatensis , demonstrating diverse survival strategies and potential for bioremediation. The highest bacterial diversity and evenness were observed during the monsoon season, as indicated by various ecological indices. Screening for heavy metal tolerance revealed that isolate HGB1 exhibited the highest tolerance to arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, and iron, up to 100 ppm. Antibiotic sensitivity assays further highlighted the resistance profiles of the isolates. The existence of bacteria exhibiting tolerance to heavy metals in the Ganga River underscores the impact of anthropogenic activities on microbial communities and emphasizes the necessity for regular monitoring and sustainable remediation techniques to preserve the river's ecological integrity and mitigate public health risks. This study contributes crucial findings regarding the complex interplay between physicochemical parameters, microbial diversity, and heavy metal tolerance in the Ganga River ecosystem. Ganga River Heavy metals Bacterial diversity Bioremediation Metal tolerance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7921720","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":542153844,"identity":"4d39eed3-deda-4b20-a9ae-f062b909456e","order_by":0,"name":"vani 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Gradients","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ganga River, Heavy metals, Bacterial diversity, Bioremediation, Metal tolerance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7921720/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7921720/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe Ganga River, a vital water resource in India, faces significant challenges due to increasing pollution, particularly from heavy metals. The present study explores the bacterial diversity and heavy metal tolerance of microorganisms in the Ganga River at Haridwar. Water samples were collected from four locations (Bhimgoda, Kankhal, Prem Nagar, and Jwalapur) during three seasons (monsoon, winter, and summer). Physio-chemical parameters, including pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and biochemical oxygen demand, were analyzed, revealing notable seasonal and spatial variations. Heavy metal-tolerant bacteria were isolated and characterized using morphological, biochemical, and molecular techniques. Fifteen bacterial strains were identified, including \u003cem\u003eBacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eDelftia tsuruhatensis\u003c/em\u003e, demonstrating diverse survival strategies and potential for bioremediation. The highest bacterial diversity and evenness were observed during the monsoon season, as indicated by various ecological indices. Screening for heavy metal tolerance revealed that isolate HGB1 exhibited the highest tolerance to arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, and iron, up to 100 ppm. Antibiotic sensitivity assays further highlighted the resistance profiles of the isolates. The existence of bacteria exhibiting tolerance to heavy metals in the Ganga River underscores the impact of anthropogenic activities on microbial communities and emphasizes the necessity for regular monitoring and sustainable remediation techniques to preserve the river's ecological integrity and mitigate public health risks. 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