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Biofilm comprising phototrophic, diazotrophic, and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria: a promising consortium in the bioremediation of aquatic hydrocarbon pollutants

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Abstract

Biofilms harboring simultaneously anoxygenic and oxygenic phototrophic bacteria, diazotrophic bacteria, and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria were established on glass slides suspended in pristine and oily seawater. Via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis on PCR-amplified rRNA gene sequence fragments from the extracted DNA from biofilms, followed by band amplification, biofilm composition was determined. The biofilms contained anoxygenic phototrophs belonging to alphaproteobacteria; pico- and filamentous cyanobacteria (oxygenic phototrophs); two species of the diazotroph Azospirillum; and two hydrocarbon-utilizing gammaproteobacterial genera, Cycloclasticus and Oleibacter. The coexistence of all these microbial taxa with different physiologies in the biofilm makes the whole community nutritionally self-sufficient and adequately aerated, a condition quite suitable for the microbial biodegradation of aquatic pollutant hydrocarbons.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Kuwait University, research grant SL02/08. We would also like to acknowledge the use of ABI 3130xl Genetic Analyzer under the General Facility Projects GS01/02 and Mrs. Leena Idicula for her technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, PO Box 5969, Safat, 13060, Kuwait

    Dhia Al-Bader, Mayada K. Kansour, Rehab Rayan & Samir S. Radwan

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  1. Dhia Al-Bader
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  2. Mayada K. Kansour
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  3. Rehab Rayan
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  4. Samir S. Radwan
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Correspondence to Samir S. Radwan.

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Responsible editor: Robert Duran

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Al-Bader, D., Kansour, M.K., Rayan, R. et al. Biofilm comprising phototrophic, diazotrophic, and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria: a promising consortium in the bioremediation of aquatic hydrocarbon pollutants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 3252–3262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1251-z

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