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.