Abstract
Two hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial isolates, an Arthrobacter sp. and a Gram-negative bacillus isolated from Kuwait oil lakes, exhibited considerable cell-surface hydrophobicity without production of exopolysaccharides in complex media. However, the bacteria produced copious amounts of exopolysaccharides in a low nutrient medium. When incubated with sawdust, Styrofoam or wheat bran, as carriers, under low nutrient conditions, stable exopolysaccharide-mediated immobilized cultures were formed. Such immobilized cultures when air-dried at room temperature survived storage for 6 weeks at 45 °C and still retained the ability to degrade hydrocarbons. Viability was retained by the immobilized Arthrobacter sp. and the Gram-negative bacterium at 45 °C storage for up to 6 and 12 months, respectively.
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Obuekwe, C., Al-Muttawa, E.M. Self-immobilized bacterial cultures with potential for application as ready-to-use seeds for petroleum bioremediation. Biotechnology Letters 23, 1025–1032 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010544320118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010544320118