title: Isolation and characterization of crude-oil-degrading bacteria from the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
abstract: Twenty-five crude-oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from oil-contaminated sites in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Based on a high growth rate on crude oil and on hydrocarbon degradation ability, 11 strains were selected from the 25 isolated strains for further study. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene showed that these isolated strains belonged to genera Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Gordonia, Rhodococcus, Cobetia, Halomonas, Alcanivorax, Marinobacter and Microbacterium. Among the 11 isolates, strains BS (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, 98%) and PG-12 (Alcanivorax dieselolei, 98%) were the most effective in degrading crude oil. Rate of crude-oil degradation of 82% (isolate BS) and 71% (isolate PG-12) were observed after 1 week of cultivation in mineral medium. These strains had high emulsification activity and biosurfactant production. GC-MS analysis showed that A. dieselolei PG-12 can degrade different alkanes in crude oil. Screening of the distribution of the alkane hydroxylase gene in 25 isolates in relation to the source of isolation indicated that the group (II) alkane hydroxylase is prevalent in the Caspian Sea, but in the Persian Gulf, the frequency of the group (III) alkane hydroxylase gene is greater than that of the group (II) alkane hydroxylase gene.
authors: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran. Electronic address: mshahi@uk.ac.ir.
authors: Mehdi
authors: M
authors: Hassanshahian
authors: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Giti
authors: G
authors: Emtiazi
authors: Instituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero (IAMC), CNR Section of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Cappello
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D042926:Cytochrome P-450 CYP4A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019156:Indian Ocean; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D042926:Cytochrome P-450 CYP4A