title: Enhanced crude oil biodegradation in soil via biostimulation.
abstract: Research on feasible methods for the enhancement of bioremediation in soil contaminated by crude oil is vital in oil-exporting countries such as Kuwait, where crude oil is a major pollutant and the environment is hostile to biodegradation. This study investigated the possibility of enhancing crude oil bioremediation by supplementing soil with cost-effective organic materials derived from two widespread locally grown trees, Conocarpus and Tamarix. Amendments in soils increased the counts of soil microbiota by up to 98% and enhanced their activity by up to 95.5%. The increase in the biodegradation of crude oil (75%) and high levels of alkB expression substantiated the efficiency of the proposed amendment technology for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. The identification of crude-oil-degrading bacteria revealed the dominance of the genus Microbacterium (39.6%), Sphingopyxis soli (19.3%), and Bordetella petrii (19.6%) in unamended, Conocarpus-amended, and Tamarix-amended contaminated soils, respectively. Although soil amendments favored the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and reduced bacterial diversity, the structures of bacterial communities were not significantly altered.
authors: a Department of Biological Sciences , College of Science, Kuwait University , Kuwait.
authors: Esmaeil
authors: E
authors: Al-Saleh
authors: a Department of Biological Sciences , College of Science, Kuwait University , Kuwait.
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Hassan
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D029764:Combretaceae; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D032363:Tamaricaceae; D014197:Trees
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D012987:Soil
keywords: biodegradation; biostimulation; crude oil; phylogenetic