Abstract
In an effort at developing an active indigenous bacterial consortium that could be of relevance in bioremediation of petroleum contaminated systems in Nigeria, four hydrocarbon degrading bacteria strains were isolated. Partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA of the isolates suggests that they are all strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Axenic cultures of the isolates biodegraded Bonny light crude oil in soil microcosm. Amount of crude oil biodegraded in 15 days ranged significantly (P < 0.05) from 4.9% to 29.6%. Degradation rates and specific growth rates varied significantly (P < 0.05) between 0.049 and 0.351 day-1 and 0.017 and 0.028 hour-1 respectively. Major peak components of the oil were reduced by between 6.5% and 70.6%. It would appear thatoil degradation capability of axenic cultures of at least three of these isolates was not different from that of their consortium. Also, the multiple antibiotic resistance observed in the isolates is an important factor to consider in their eventual use in bioremediation exercises. Key words: Crude oil, soil microcosm, biodegradation.
Highlights
Petroleum exploration started in the late 1930s with the first exploration well drilled by shell DArcy at Iho, North West of Owerri (SPDC, 1996)
This paper reports some attributes and potentials of these bacteria isolates for the biodegration of Nigerian Bonny light crude oil in soil system
The four bacterial isolates had been tentatively identified in our previous studies (Okoh et al, 1996, 2000, 2001), based on biochemical/enzymatic characteristics, as strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OK1 and MT1), Burkholderia cepacia (RQ1) and Stenotrophomonas maltipholia (T2), analysis of the 16S rDNA sequences suggested OK1, RQ1 and T2 are strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Summary
Petroleum exploration started in the late 1930s with the first exploration well drilled by shell DArcy at Iho, North West of Owerri (SPDC, 1996). The development of petroleum industry into new frontiers, the apparent inevitable spillage, which usually occur during routine operations, and records of acute accidents during transportation, has called for more studies into oil pollution problems. These pollution problems have been prevalent in Nigeria since the 1950s (Okoh et al, 2001). Remediation of polluted systems could be achieved by physical, chemical or biological methods. The attendant negative consequences of the physicochemical methods make the biological alternative or bioremediation more attractive
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