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Structural dynamics of microbial communities in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated tropical estuarine sediments undergoing simulated aerobic biotreatment

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Coastal sediments contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be candidates for remediation via an approach like land farming. Land farming converts naturally anaerobic sediments to aerobic environments, and the response of microbial communities, in terms of community structure alterations and corresponding effects on biodegradative activities, is unknown. A key goal of this study was to determine if different sediments exhibited common patterns in microbial community responses that might serve as indicators of PAH biodegradation. Sediments from three stations in the Lagos Lagoon (Nigeria) were used in microcosms, which were spiked with a mixture of four PAH, then examined for PAH biodegradation and for shifts in microbial community structure by analysis of diversity in PAH degradation genes and Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. PAH biodegradation was similar in all sediments, yet each exhibited unique microbiological responses and there were no microbial indicators of PAH bioremediation common to all sediments.

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Acknowledgements

These studies were supported by graduate fellowships from the University of Lagos (to CCO) and by an endowment from the O.N. Allen Professorship in Soil Microbiology (to WJH). Processing of Illumina data through the QIIME pipeline was done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bioinformatics Resource Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

    Chioma C. Obi, Sunday A. Adebusoye, Olukayode O. Amund, Esther O. Ugoji & Mathew O. Ilori

  2. O.N. Allen Laboratory for Soil Microbiology, Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Chioma C. Obi & William J. Hickey

  3. Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, WI, USA

    Curtis J. Hedman

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  1. Chioma C. Obi
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  2. Sunday A. Adebusoye
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  3. Olukayode O. Amund
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  4. Esther O. Ugoji
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  5. Mathew O. Ilori
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  6. Curtis J. Hedman
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  7. William J. Hickey
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Correspondence to Chioma C. Obi.

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This study was funded by an endowment from the O.N. Allen Professorship of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (to WJH).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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No animals or human subjects were used in these studies.

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Obi, C.C., Adebusoye, S.A., Amund, O.O. et al. Structural dynamics of microbial communities in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated tropical estuarine sediments undergoing simulated aerobic biotreatment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 4299–4314 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8151-6

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