Construction and Evaluation of a Korean Native Microbial Consortium for the Bioremediation of Diesel Fuel-Contaminated Soil in Korea.

Yunho Lee,Che Ok Jeon,Moonsuk Hur,Sang Eun Jeong,Sunghwan Ko

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.02594

Abstract

A native microbial consortium for the bioremediation of soil contaminated with diesel fuel in Korea was constructed and its biodegradation ability was assessed. Microbial strains isolated from Korean terrestrial environments, with the potential to biodegrade aliphatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, and resins, were investigated and among them, eventually seven microbial strains, Acinetobacter oleivorans DR1, Corynebacterium sp. KSS-2, Pseudomonas sp. AS1, Pseudomonas sp. Neph5, Rhodococcus sp. KOS-1, Micrococcus sp. KSS-8, and Yarrowia sp. KSS-1 were selected for the construction of a microbial consortium based on their biodegradation ability, hydrophobicity, and emulsifying activity. Laboratory- and bulk-scale biodegradation tests showed that in diesel fuel-contaminated soil supplemented with nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), the microbial consortium clearly improved the biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons, and all microbial strains constituting the microbial consortium, except for Yarrowia survived and grew well, which suggests that the microbial consortium can be used for the bioremediation of diesel fuel-contaminated soil in Korea.

Highlights

Soil contamination with toxic compounds has become a great environmental concern in recent years because toxic compounds in soil and groundwater are a threat to both human health and nature (Chen et al, 2015)
To construct a native microbial consortium for the bioremediation of diesel fuel-contaminated soil in Korea, we obtained a list of candidate microorganisms potentially capable of degrading diesel fuel compounds, including aliphatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), or resins, that were isolated from terrestrial environments in Korea, through a literature search of research articles, patents, and other reference materials
To construct a native microbial consortium for the bioremediation of diesel fuel-contaminated soil in Korea, all microbial strains isolated from terrestrial environments in Korea with the potential to biodegrade aliphatic hydrocarbons, PAH, or resins were found using an wide-ranging literature search

Summary

Introduction

Soil contamination with toxic compounds has become a great environmental concern in recent years because toxic compounds in soil and groundwater are a threat to both human health and nature (Chen et al, 2015). Many diverse microorganisms that can be used for the bioremediation of contaminated soil have been isolated from terrestrial habitats worldwide (Jeon et al, 2003; Das and Chandran, 2011; Fierer et al, 2012; Jin et al, 2012; Bardgett and van der Putten, 2014; Shekhar et al, 2015; Ismaeil et al, 2018; Roy et al, 2018). Many efforts have been made to isolate, preserve, and characterize biological resources, to overcome these legal issues in all countries (Overmann, 2015; Overmann and Scholz, 2017)

Methods

Results

Conclusion