Isolation, and Characterization of Petroleum Oil-Degrading Bacteria from Petroleum Contaminated Soil

Abstract

Petroleum serves as a vital energy source, but extensive exploration can lead to frequent accidents, resulting in soil contamination from oil spills, which poses risks to both ecosystems and human health. Bioremediation emerges as a potent method for addressing polluted environments, involving the deliberate selection and application of microorganisms. In the present study, bacteria present in the petroleum oil contaminated soil were isolated by enrichment culture technique using Bushnall Hass (BS) media supplemented with petroleum oil as a sole carbon source. The isolated bacterial strains were characterized by morphological and biochemical tests and further characterized through molecular tools ie, sequencing method. Three bacterial isolates were morphologically characterized as gram-positive, spherical, cocci, and rod shaped further 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that the isolates are closely related to Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus sp., and Bacillus pumilus, respectively. The optimum growth was at pH 7.0 and temperature 37 °C. All strains were susceptible to various antibiotics, and resistant to various heavy metals and have no antagonistic effect with oil degrading bacteria. All strains were grown in five different concentrations of petroleum oil (1%, 1.50%, 2%, 2.50%, and 3%), respectively. Study revealed that all the isolates showed their degradation efficacy in 3% v/v petroleum oil. So, this research clearly demonstrates that the isolated bacterial strains could be effectively used for bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated areas.

Keywords:

• Bioremediation
• oil degrading bacteria
• 16S rRNA sequencing

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2024R165), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).