Oil Biodegradation Potential in Alpine Habitats

Abstract

We enriched cold-adapted diesel-oil-degrading microorganisms (inocula) from 29 alpine habitats (soils and glaciers) and evaluated the biodegradation of diesel oil at low temperatures. All microbial inocula tested utilized diesel oil (5000 mg L^–1) as the sole carbon source at 4 and 10°C. Not only oil-contaminated samples, but also samples from uncontaminated sites contained efficient biodegraders. Ten inocula were selected to study the effect of diesel oil concentration and incubation time on biodegradation at 10°C. The time course of biodegradation was similar at all three concentrations (500, 1200, 5000 mg L^–1) tested. Biodegradation occurred mainly during the first 6 d of incubation. Complete biodegradation of the diesel oil added was not achieved with any of the inocula tested; at least ca. 25% of the initial diesel-oil-concentration remained.