title: Biofilm comprising phototrophic, diazotrophic, and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria: a promising consortium in the bioremediation of aquatic hydrocarbon pollutants.
abstract: Biofilms harboring simultaneously anoxygenic and oxygenic phototrophic bacteria, diazotrophic bacteria, and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria were established on glass slides suspended in pristine and oily seawater. Via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis on PCR-amplified rRNA gene sequence fragments from the extracted DNA from biofilms, followed by band amplification, biofilm composition was determined. The biofilms contained anoxygenic phototrophs belonging to alphaproteobacteria; pico- and filamentous cyanobacteria (oxygenic phototrophs); two species of the diazotroph Azospirillum; and two hydrocarbon-utilizing gammaproteobacterial genera, Cycloclasticus and Oleibacter. The coexistence of all these microbial taxa with different physiologies in the biofilm makes the whole community nutritionally self-sufficient and adequately aerated, a condition quite suitable for the microbial biodegradation of aquatic pollutant hydrocarbons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, PO Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Dhia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Al-Bader
authors.forename: Mayada K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kansour
authors.forename: Rehab
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rayan
authors.forename: Samir S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Radwan
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical