Oxidation of aliphatic, branched chain, and aromatic hydrocarbons by Nocardia cyriacigeorgica isolated from oil-polluted sand samples collected in the Saudi Arabian Desert.
A soil bacterium isolated from oil-polluted sand samples collected in the Saudi Arabian Desert has been determined as Nocardia cyriacigeorgica, which has a high capacity of degrading and utilizing a broad range of hydrocarbons. The metabolic pathways of three classes of hydrocarbons were elucidated by identifying metabolites in cell-free extracts analyzed by GC/MS and HPLC/UV-Vis in comparison with standard compounds. During tetradecane oxidation, tetradecanol; tetradecanoic acid; dodecanoic acid; decanoic acid could be found as metabolites, indicating a monoterminal degradation pathway of n -alkanes. The oxidation of pristane resulted in the presence of pristanoic acid; 2-methylglutaric acid; 4,8-dimethylnonanoic acid; and 2,6-dimethylheptanoic acid, which give rise to a possible mono- and di-terminal oxidation. In case of sec -octylbenzene, eight metabolites were detected including 5-phenylhexanoic acid; 3-phenylbutyric acid; 2-phenylpropionic acid; beta -methylcinnamic acid; acetophenone; beta -hydroxy acetophenone; 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid and succinic acid. From these intermediates a new degradation pathway for sec -octylbenzene was investigated. Our results indicate that N. cyriacigeorgica has the ability to degrade aliphatic and branched chain alkanes as well as alkylbenzene effectively and, therefore, N. cyriacigeorgica is probably a suitable bacterium for biodegradation of oil or petroleum products in contaminated soils.
Department of Petroleum Microbiology, Institute of Biotechnology, VAST, Hoang Quoc Viet-Cau Giay-Hanoi-Vietnam. lenhicong@googlemail.com
Thi Nhi-Cong
TN
Le
Annett
A
Mikolasch
Susanne
S
Awe
Halah
H
Sheikhany
Hans-Peter
HP
Klenk
Frieder
F
Schauer
D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006839:Hydrocarbons, Acyclic / Q000378:metabolism*; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000378:metabolism*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D008954:Models, Biological; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009615:Nocardia / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009821:Oils; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D012988:Soil Microbiology
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006839:Hydrocarbons, Acyclic; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; D009821:Oils; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012822:Silicon Dioxide