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Preferential utilization of petroleum oil hydrocarbon components by microbial consortia reflects degradation pattern in aliphatic–aromatic hydrocarbon binary mixtures

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Abstract

In this study, the abilities of two microbial consortia (Y and F) to degrade aliphatic–aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures were investigated. Y consortium preferentially degraded the aromatic hydrocarbon fractions in kerosene, while F consortium preferentially degraded the aliphatic hydrocarbon fractions. Degradation experiments were performed under aerobic conditions in sealed bottles containing liquid medium and n-octane or n-decane as representative aliphatic hydrocarbons or toluene, ethylbenzene or p-xylene as representative aromatic hydrocarbons (all at 100 mg/l). Results demonstrated that the Y consortium degraded p-xylene more rapidly than n-octane. It degraded toluene, ethylbenzene and p-xylene more rapidly than decane. In comparison, the F consortium degraded n-octane more rapidly than toluene, ethylbenzene or p-xylene, and n-decane more rapidly than toluene, ethylbenzene or p-xylene. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the Y consortium was dominated by Betaproteobacteria and the F consortium by Gammaproteobacteria, and in particular Pseudomonas. This could account for their metabolic differences. The substrate preferences of the two consortia showed that the aliphatic–aromatic hydrocarbon binary mixtures, especially the n-decane–toluene/ethylbenzene/p-xylene pairs, reflected their degradation ability of complex hydrocarbon compounds such as kerosene. This suggests that aliphatic–aromatic binary systems could be used as a tool to rapidly determine the degradation preferences of a microbial consortium.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank INPEX Corporation for their assistance during soil sampling at the Yabase oil field in Akita Prefecture, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, 6-6-20 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan

    Hernando Pactao Bacosa, Koichi Suto & Chihiro Inoue

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  1. Hernando Pactao Bacosa
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  2. Koichi Suto
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  3. Chihiro Inoue
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Correspondence to Hernando Pactao Bacosa.

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Bacosa, H.P., Suto, K. & Inoue, C. Preferential utilization of petroleum oil hydrocarbon components by microbial consortia reflects degradation pattern in aliphatic–aromatic hydrocarbon binary mixtures. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 27, 1109–1117 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0557-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0557-6

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