https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6666-6890
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ABSTRACT
Three bacterial species related to the genus Thalassospira (T. lucentensis, T. xianhensis and T. profundimaris), isolated from polluted sediment and seawater samples collected from Priolo Bay (eastern coast of Sicily, Ionian Sea), were analyzed for their biotechnological potential. For this purpose, the presence of specific catabolic genes associated to aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon metabolism, the production of biosurfactants and emulsification activity, the capability to degrade oil-derived linear, branched, cyclic alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were evaluated. Alkane hydroxylase gene (alkano-monoxygenase alkb and citocrome P450) were present in genome of all strains, confirming their hydrocarbons degrading capability. All strains of Thalassospira produced biosurfactants and showed emulsification activity. The two-dimensional gas chromatography analysis (GC×GC) showed that they were able to degrade oil fractions with the capacity ranging between 77% and 91%. The data obtained in this study demonstrated the biodegradation ability of Thalassospira and suggest that these strains play an important role in marine contaminated ecosystems
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful the project P.O.FSE – SICILIA 2014-2020 “SANi – Salute e Ambiente – Fattori di rischio da contaminanti nei disordini del Neurosviluppo”.
Disclosure statement
No conflict of interest is declared by the authors and none of the authors of this paper has a direct financial relationship with the commercial identities mentioned in this article.