Open AccessBiodegradation of high‐molecular‐weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a wood‐degrading consortium at low temperatures
Author(s) -
Simarro Raquel,
González Natalia,
Bautista Luis Fernando,
Molina Maria Carmen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12006
Subject(s) - phenanthrene , pyrene , biodegradation , polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon , anthracene , temperature gradient gel electrophoresis , biology , environmental chemistry , microbacterium , naphthalene , fluoranthene , pseudomonas , bioremediation , microbiology and biotechnology , contamination , chemistry , bacteria , organic chemistry , ecology , genetics , 16s ribosomal rna , astrobiology
This study evaluates the ability of two bacterial consortia ( C 2 PL 05 and BOS 08), extracted from very different environments, to degrade low‐ (naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene) and high‐ (pyrene, perylene) molecular‐weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAH s) at high (15–25 °C) and low (5–15 °C) temperature ranges. C 2 PL 05 was isolated from a soil in an area chronically and heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and BOS 08 from decomposing wood in an unpolluted forest, free of PAH s. Bacterial consortia were described by cultivable and noncultivable techniques (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis). Fungal DNA was not observed within the wood‐decomposing consortium and fungal activity was therefore negligible during most of the PAH degradation process. PAH ‐degrading bacterial populations, measured by most probable number enumeration, increased during the exponential phase. Toxicity estimated by the Microtox method was reduced to low levels and final PAH depletion, determined by HPLC , confirmed the high degree (54% and 99%, respectively) of low‐ and high‐molecular‐weight PAH degradation capacity of the two consortia. PAH ‐degrading capacity was also confirmed at low temperatures, and especially by consortium BOS 08 not previously exposed to those toxic compounds, where strains of A cinetobacter sp., P seudomonas sp., R alstonia sp. and M icrobacterium sp. were identified.