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Characterization, phylogenetic distribution and evolutionary trajectories of diverse hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms isolated from refinery sludge

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Abstract

Phylogenic association between bacteria living under harsh conditions can provide important information on adaptive mechanism, survival strategy and their potential application. Indigenous microorganisms isolated from toxic refinery oily sludge with ability to degrade a diverse range of hydrocarbons were identified and characterized. The strains including Pseudomonas aeruginosa RS1, Microbacterium sp. RS2, Bacillus sp. RS3, Acinetobacter baumannii RS4 and Stenotrophomonas sp. RS5 could utilize n-alkanes, cycloalkanes, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with 2–4 rings and also substituted PAHs as sole substrate. The phylogenetic position of Bacillus sp. RS3 and Pseudomonas sp. RS1 was tested by applying the maximum likelihood (ML) method to the aligned 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences of PAH and aliphatic hydrocarbon degrading strains belonging to the corresponding genus. The base substitution matrix created with each set of organisms capable of degrading aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons showed significant transitional event with high values of transition: transversion ratio (R) under all conditions. The guanine-cytosine (GC) content of the hydrocarbon degrading test strains was also found to be highest for the clade which harbored them. The test strains consistently occupied a distinct terminal end within the phylogenetic tree constructed by ML analysis. This study reveals that the refinery sludge imposed environmental stress on the bacterial strains which possibly caused significant genetic alteration and phenotypic adaptation. Due to the divergent evolution of the Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains in the sludge, they appeared distinctly different from other hydrocarbon degrading strains of the same genus.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by IRCC, IIT Bombay, India. Special thanks to Dr. Punyasloke Bhadury, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata for constructive feedback.

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  1. Debdeep Dasgupta

    Present address: Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Mumbai, Bhatan, Post-Somathne, Panvel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 410206, India

  2. Debdeep Dasgupta and Jublee Jasmine contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400076, India

    Debdeep Dasgupta, Jublee Jasmine & Suparna Mukherji

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Dasgupta, D., Jasmine, J. & Mukherji, S. Characterization, phylogenetic distribution and evolutionary trajectories of diverse hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms isolated from refinery sludge. 3 Biotech 8, 273 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-018-1297-9

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