Oceanobacter-related bacteria are important for the degradation of petroleum aliphatic hydrocarbons in the tropical marine environment.
Petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were obtained after enrichment on crude oil (as a 'chocolate mousse') in a continuous supply of Indonesian seawater amended with nitrogen, phosphorus and iron nutrients. They were related to Alcanivorax and Marinobacter strains, which are ubiquitous petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in marine environments, and to Oceanobacter kriegii (96.4-96.5 % similarities in almost full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences). The Oceanobacter-related bacteria showed high n-alkane-degrading activity, comparable to that of Alcanivorax borkumensis strain SK2. On the other hand, Alcanivorax strains exhibited high activity for branched-alkane degradation and thus could be key bacteria for branched-alkane biodegradation in tropical seas. Oceanobacter-related bacteria became most dominant in microcosms that simulated a crude oil spill event with Indonesian seawater. The dominance was observed in microcosms that were unamended or amended with fertilizer, suggesting that the Oceanobacter-related strains could become dominant in the natural tropical marine environment after an accidental oil spill, and would continue to dominate in the environment after biostimulation. These results suggest that Oceanobacter-related bacteria could be major degraders of petroleum n-alkanes spilt in the tropical sea.
Teramoto
Maki
M
NITE Biotechnology Development Center (NBDC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
Suzuki
Masahito
M
NITE Biotechnology Development Center (NBDC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
Okazaki
Fumiyoshi
F
NITE Biotechnology Development Center (NBDC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
Hatmanti
Ariani
A
Research Center for Oceanography, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta Utara 14430, Indonesia.
Harayama
Shigeaki
S
NITE Biotechnology Development Center (NBDC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006839:Hydrocarbons, Acyclic / Q000378:metabolism*; D007214:Indonesia; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D006839:Hydrocarbons, Acyclic; D010578:Petroleum; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical