Biosynthesis and Characterization of Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Divergent Microbial and Ecological Bioresources

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) have extensive demand in industrial products, food processing and environmental remediation. This study aimed to isolate potent bacterial and fungal strains from soils of divergent climatic regions for EPS production. Samples were collected from Koont (sub-humid) and Narin (arid) sites. They were cultured for bacterial and fungal isolation on agar media, and EPS production from them in broth. Significantly greater amounts of EPS were synthesized by two bacterial and a fungal strain. The highest quantity of EPS was produced by fungal strain EPF10 (1.72 g L^‒1) followed by bacterial strains EPB9 (1.62 g L^‒1) and EPB17 (1.20 g L^‒1). Biochemical and molecular characterization revealed these bacterial strains as Pseudomonas aeruginosa EPB9 and Bacillus cereus EPB17, and fungus Aspergillus niger EPF10. The FTIR analysis of EPS revealed stretching vibrations between 3500 and 500 cm⁻¹ confirming their biochemical constituents. This study concludes that microbial strains from harsh climate bear greater potential of high quality EPS production.