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Evaluation of Bacillus subtilis as a Tool for Biodegrading Diesel Oil and Gasoline in Experimentally Contaminated Water and Soil

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Abstract

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) are toxic petroleum hydrocarbons pollutants that can affect the central nervous system and even cause cancer. For that reason, studies regarding BTEX degradation are extremely important. Our study aimed evaluate the microorganism Bacillus subtilis as a tool for degrading petroleum hydrocarbons pollutants. Assays were run utilizing water or soil distinctly contaminated with gasoline and diesel oil, with and without B. subtilis. The ability of B. subtilis to degrade hydrophobic compounds was analyzed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography. The FTIR results indicated, for water assays, that B. subtilis utilized the gasoline and diesel oil to produce the biosurfactant, and, as a consequence, performed a biodegradation process. In the same way, for soil assay, B. subtilis biodegraded the diesel oil. The gas chromatography results indicated, for gasoline in soil assay, the B. subtilis removed BTEX. So, B. subtilis was capable of degrading BTEX, producing biosurfactant and it can also be used for other industrial applications. Bioremediation can be an efficient, economical, and versatile alternative for BTEX contamination.

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Data Availability

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author in Dropbox file.

Code Availability

C:\Users\ajoza\Dropbox\mais uma pasta ANgela e Denise\Artigo Gasolina (Paulo).

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Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from University of Sorocaba (Uniso) by the Undergraduate Research Program (PROBIC/UNISO). Coordination for Higher Level Graduate Improvements (CAPES/Brazil, finance code 001), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LaMInFe – Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Fermentation Process, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

    Paulo Salmazo, Nathane De Marco, Victória Soares Soeiro, Nathália Roberta Cardoso Mendes Castanho & Angela F. Jozala

  2. LaBNUS – Biomaterials and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

    Victória Soares Soeiro & Marco Vinicius Chaud

  3. LAPETOX – Laboratory of Toxicological Research, University of Sorocaba, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

    Nathália Roberta Cardoso Mendes Castanho, Fernanda Gomes Leite & Denise Grotto

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  1. Paulo Salmazo
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  8. Angela F. Jozala
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Contributions

Conceptualization was contributed by AFJ and DG; methodology was contributed by PS, NDM., MVC and AFJ; writing—original draft preparation was contributed by PS, VSS, NRCM, FGL and AFJ; writing—review and editing was contributed by DG and AFJ; study supervision was contributed by AFJ. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Angela F. Jozala.

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Salmazo, P., De Marco, N., Soeiro, V.S. et al. Evaluation of Bacillus subtilis as a Tool for Biodegrading Diesel Oil and Gasoline in Experimentally Contaminated Water and Soil. Curr Microbiol 80, 94 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-022-03175-y

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