Isolation and identification of new strains of crude oil degrading bacteria from Kharg Island, Iran

ABSTRACT

Petroleum-degrading bacteria were isolated from polluted sites in Kharg Island, which is one of the most important ports for oil export in Iran. Both biochemical tests and 16S rRNA were applied to identify the strains. Experiments were performed in a mineral salt medium containing 2% of crude oil as the sole carbon. The results illustrated that the strains were: Brevibacillus sp., Microbacterium oxydans, Staphylococcus arlettae, Staphylococcus warneri, Methylobacterium persicinum, and Achromobacter xylosoxidans. Growth rates of these strains by its optical densities at the wavelength of 600 illustrated that Pseudomonas sp. (accession no. KC771232) had the highest growth rate (OD₆₀₀ 0.8).

KEYWORDS:

• bacterial strains
• growth rate
• petroleum compounds
• pseudomonas sp
• 16S rRNA

Acknowledgments

This project was backed by the Vice Chancellorship for Research Affairs of UMSHA (No. 9404021830). The authors are grateful to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences for providing research materials, equipment and fund. We are also grateful to the Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC) for providing us with the soil samples.

Additional information

Funding

Vice chancellor for research and technology of Hamadan university 1395432