Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify and culture bacteria indigenous from heavily polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)-contaminated sediments and evaluate their degradative potential. Fifteen novel aerobic PAH degraders mostly associated with Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas, Brucella, and Achromobacter genera were isolated. MHR3A, related to Brucella microti CCM 4915, MHR3B, related to Pseudomonas putida NBRC 14164, and MHRN15A, related to Achromobacter kerstersii LMG 344, grew aggressively on PAHs as sole carbon sources and were used for degradation studies. With no amendment or added surfactant, within 15 days, MHR3B was able to degrade 78%, 82%, and 57%, respectively of fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene (FPP) compared to the controls which were statistically lower. MHR3A was able to degrade 81%, 84%, and 73% of FPP respectively, while MHRN15A was able to degrade 18%, 29%, and 20% of FPP. An anaerobic consortium enriched on FPP, consisting mainly of Gammaproteobacteria and Clostridia, was obtained and tested under sulfate-reducing conditions in the presence of anthraquinone-2,6 disulfonate (AQDS); however, FPP loss attributed to bacteria was only 15% over 120 days. This study demonstrated that isolation and culturing techniques coupled with standard molecular methods warrants continued investigation of indigenous microbes for in situ remediation of highly PAH-contaminated environments.
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The authors include all informative and useful data in the present manuscript. Data for anaerobic degradation can be provided if requested.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Mr. Ed Budde from Youngstown State University and Ms. Kathy Frantz at Thiel College for their technical support. We equally thank to undergraduate biology students in Dr. Johnston’s Laboratory at Youngstown State University, Ms. Sara Clark, Mr. John Morocco, Mr. Jonathan Vanasdale, and Mr. Nickolas Picirillo for their help during experimentation and chemical extractions.
Funding
Funding was provided by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (2019 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Programme) through a grant awarded to Ömer Acer to conduct research for 1 year in the laboratory of Carl Johnston at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, USA. Funding was also provided by the Department of Biological Sciences, Youngstown State University to perform experimentation and analyses.
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Acer, Ö., Johnston, G.P., Lineman, D. et al. Evaluating degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) potential by indigenous bacteria isolated from highly contaminated riverbank sediments. Environ Earth Sci 80, 773 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10070-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10070-5