Self-cleaning of very heavily oil-polluted sites proceeds even under heavy-metal stress while involved bacteria exhibit bizarre pleomorphism.

Abstract

Two substrates saturated with crude oil, a desert soil sample (17.3% oil) and an olive-pomace (plant-based oil sorbent) sample (41% oil) showed effective self-cleaning via their own native microorganisms. The oil in such systems did not gather in one compact layer as it may be expected, but became dispensed as vesicles of varying dimensions connected together with narrow tunnels. Bacteria colonized the oil vesicles but only at the borders between the oil and the watery substrates. Through this architectural arrangement, the cells were capable of absorbing oil through their oil-contact surfaces and oxygen, water and water soluble nutrients through their substrate-contact surfaces. The cells involved were those of indigenous hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial communities. Many of those bacteria also tolerated and removed the amended heavy-metals, Hg2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, AsO43- and AsO33-. In the presence of heavy-metals, some of the bacterial species particularly of the pseudomonads exhibited bizarre pleomorphic cell-forms. It was concluded that even environments toxified with extremely high oil concentrations and heavy-metals can be remediated rather effectively via their already existing native microorganisms.