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Biodegradation of fluoranthene by a newly isolated strain of Bacillus stratosphericus from Mediterranean seawater of the Sfax fishing harbour, Tunisia

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Abstract

A physico-chemical characterization of seawater taken from the fishing harbour of Sfax, Tunisia, revealed a contamination by organic and inorganic micropollutants. An aerobic marine halotolerant Bacillus stratosphericus strain FLU5 was isolated after enrichment on fluoranthene, a persistent and toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). GC-MS analyses showed that strain FLU5 was capable of degrading almost 45 % of fluoranthene (100 mg l−1), without yeast extract added, after 30 days of incubation at 30 g l−1 NaCl and 37 °C. In addition, the isolate FLU5 showed a remarkable capacity to grow on a wide range of aliphatic, aromatic and complex hydrocarbons. This strain could also synthesize a biosurfactant which was capable of reducing the surface tension of the cell-free medium, during the growth on fluoranthene. The biodegradative abilities of PAHs are promising and can be used to perform the bioremediation strategies of seawaters and marine sediments contaminated by hydrocarbons.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant provided by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Hubert Curien Program (CMCU 15G0808) supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. We thank Mrs. Manel Chalbi and Mrs. Najla Mhiri for their help with molecular techniques, Miss. Lobna Jlail and Mrs. Fatma Rezgui for their technical assistance in GC-MS analyses and Mr. Nidhal Baccar for his technical assistance in atomic absorption analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Environmental Bioprocesses, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, LMI COSYS-Med, University of Sfax, PO Box 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia

    Dorra Hentati, Alif Chebbi, Slim Loukil, Sonia Kchaou, Sami Sayadi & Mohamed Chamkha

  2. Laboratory INRA of Environmental Biotechnology, Avenue des Etangs, F-11100, Narbonne, France

    Jean-Jacques Godon

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  1. Dorra Hentati
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  2. Alif Chebbi
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  3. Slim Loukil
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  4. Sonia Kchaou
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  5. Jean-Jacques Godon
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  6. Sami Sayadi
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  7. Mohamed Chamkha
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Correspondence to Mohamed Chamkha.

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Hentati, D., Chebbi, A., Loukil, S. et al. Biodegradation of fluoranthene by a newly isolated strain of Bacillus stratosphericus from Mediterranean seawater of the Sfax fishing harbour, Tunisia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 15088–15100 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6648-7

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