doi: 10.11594/jtls.08.01.11 How to cite: Pambudiono A, Suarsini E, Amin M (2017) The Potential of Indigenous Bacteria for Removing Cadmium from Industrial Wastewater in Lawang, East Java. J. Trop. Life. Science 8 (1): 62 – 67. *Corresponding author: Endang Suarsini Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, State University of Malang Jalan Semarang No.5, Malang, Indonesia 65145 E-mail: endang.suarsini.fmipa@um.ac.id THE JOURNAL OF TROPICAL LIFE SCIENCE OPEN ACCESS Freely available online VOL. 8, NO. 1, pp. 62 – 67, January 2018 Submitted March 2016; Revised August 2016; Accepted January 2017 JTLS | J. Trop. Life. Science 62 Volume 8 | Number 1 | January | 2018 The Potential of Indigenous Bacteria for Removing Cadmium from Industrial Wastewater in Lawang, East Java Agung Pambudiono, Endang Suarsini *, Mohamad Amin Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, State University of Malang, Malang, Indonesia ABSTRACT Heavy metals have been used in various areas around the world especially in the industrial sector. Heavy metals contamination is very dangerous for ecosystem because of its toxicity for some organisms. Cadmium (Cd) is a dangerous metal pollutant that can cause remarkable diverse of toxic effects, in particular for humans and animals. The use of bacteria as bioremediation agents has been widely studied because more efficient, less cost, and environ- mentally friendly strategy. This present study aimed to isolate and identify Cd-resistant bacteria from the industrial disposal site. Wastewater samples were collected from disposal site of agar flour industry in Lawang Malang, East Java. The collected wastewater effluent was analyzed for physicochemical properties. Isolation of Cd-resistant bacte- ria was carried out using serial dilution. Bacterial isolates were observed and tested for their effects on the content of Cd. The content of Cd was tested daily using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) for seven consecutive days. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05) and Tukey test. Characterization of potential bacterium was performed using bacterial identification kit. Four bacteria isolates have been successfully isolated from the wastewater sample. There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one-way ANOVA (F = 1229.62, p = 0.00). A Tukey post hoc test revealed that all conditions are significantly different from each other. The content of Cd in wastewater sample was statistically significantly lower after taking the A isolate (3.39 mg/L, p = 0.00), B Isolate (1.47 mg/L, p = 0.00), C Isolate (1.15 mg/L, p = 0.00), and D isolate (1.95 mg/L, p = 0.00) compared to the control treatment (5.11 mg/L, p = 0.00). Two of the most potential isolates identified as Pseudomonas flourescens (C isolate) and Enterobacter agglomerans (B isolate). Keywords: Heavy metals, cadmium, wastewater, potential bacteria INTRODUCTION The negative impact of the growing economy, espe- cially in the industrial sector is the increasing environ- mental pollution when the industrial waste cannot be handled properly. The industrial waste is hazardous waste. There are different types of hazardous wastes that have the potential to pollute the environment such as heavy metals. Heavy metals have been used in many dif- ferent areas around the world. Various industries use some heavy metals on pro-duction process which pro- duce wastes containing a heavy metal such as leather- working, mining, and smelting of metalliferous, elec- troosmotic, fertilizer and pesticide industry and applica- tion, electroplating, electrolysis, photography, etc. [1]. The indiscriminate release of heavy metals into the soil and waters is a major worldwide health concern, as they cannot be broken down become non-toxic forms and therefore have long-lasting effects on the ecosystem [2]. Heavy metal pollution has negative impacts on various organisms, especially humans and animals. Many studies have reported the dangerousness of heavy metals for various organisms. The dangerous met- als called ‘toxic trio’ are cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), which their biological function has not been found, yet [3]. Among those heavy metals, Cd is the dangerous one due to its toxicity, in particular for