title: Enhancing the biodegradation of oil in sandy sediments with choline: a naturally methylated nitrogen compound.
abstract: We investigated how additions of choline, a naturally occurring methylated nitrogen-containing compound, accelerated hydrocarbon degradation in sandy sediments contaminated with moderately weathered crude oil (4000 mg kg(-1) sediment). Addition of lauroylcholine chloride (LCC) and tricholine citrate (TCC) to oil contaminated sediments resulted in 1.6 times higher hydrocarbon degradation rates compared to treatments without added choline derivatives. However, the degradation rate constant for the oil contaminated sediments amended with LCC was similar to that in contaminated sediments amended with inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and glucose. Additions of LLC and TCC to sediments containing extensively weathered oil also resulted in enhanced mineralization rates. Cultivation-free 16S rRNA analysis revealed the presence of an extant microbial community with clones closely related to known hydrocarbon degraders from the Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Firmicutes phyla. The results demonstrate that the addition of minimal amounts of organic compounds to oil contaminated sediments enhances the degradation of hydrocarbons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Box 870344, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA; Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL 36528, USA. Electronic address: bmortazavi@ua.edu.
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mortazavi
authors.forename: Agota
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horel
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.forename: Arsalan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirjafari
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Beazley
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sobecky
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D010758:Phosphorus; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D002794:Choline
keywords: Biodegradation; Choline; Crude oil; Gulf of Mexico; Remediation