RESUMO
Tagetes patula L. (Marigold) hairy roots were selected among few hairy root cultures from other plants tested for the decolorization of Reactive Red 198. Hairy roots of Tagetes were able to remove dye concentrations up to 110 mg L(-l) and could be successively used at least for five consecutive decolorization cycles. The hairy roots of Tagetes decolorized six different dyes, viz. Golden Yellow HER, Methyl Orange, Orange M2RL, Navy Blue HE2R, Reactive Red M5B and Reactive Red 198. Significant induction of the activity of biotransformation enzymes indicated their crucial role in the dye metabolism. UV-vis spectroscopy, HPLC and FTIR spectroscopy analyses confirmed the degradation of Reactive Red 198. A possible pathway for the biodegradation of Reactive Red 198 has been proposed with the help of GC-MS and metabolites identified as 2-aminonaphthol, p-aminovinylsulfone ethyl disulfate and 1-aminotriazine, 3-pyridine sulfonic acid. The phytotoxicity study demonstrated the non-toxic nature of the extracted metabolites. The use of such hairy root cultures with a high ability for bioremediation of dyes is discussed.