Degradation of oil tank sludge using long-chain alkane-degrading bacteria

• Published in: Annals of microbiology Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 391 - 395
• Main Authors: Matsui, Toru, Yamamoto, Takahiro, Shinzato, Naoya, Mitsuta, Tsukasa, Nakano, Kazuma, Namihira, Tomoyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-03-2014; Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• Subjects: Acinetobacter; Actinomycetales; alkanes; Applied Microbiology; bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; cytochrome P-450; enrichment culture; hydrophobicity; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Mycology; nucleotide sequences; oils; phylogeny; Pseudomonas; ribosomal RNA; Short Communication; sludge; soil; solvents; Biodegradation; Actinobacteria; alkane; Oil tank bottom sludge; sp
• ISSN: 1590-4261; 1869-2044
• DOI: 10.1007/s13213-013-0643-8

Bacteria degrading a very long-chain alkane, n-tetracosane, were isolated from enrichment culture of soil in Okinawa. Phylogenetic analysis of their16S rRNA sequences revealed that they belong to classes Gammaproteobacteria and Actinomycetes. Three isolates belonging to the genera Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Gordonia sp. showed a stable growth on n-tetracosane and had a wide range of assimilation of aliphatic hydrocarbons from C₁₂ to C₃₀, while not on alkanes shorter than C₈. Of the isolates, Gordonia sp. degraded oil tank sludge hydrocarbons efficiently by solving the sludge in a hydrophobic solvent, while Acinetobacter sp. showed little degradation, possibly due to the difference in the mechanism of hydrophobic substrate incorporation between proteobacteria and actinobacteria. The data suggested that non-heme di-iron monooxygenases of the AlkB-type, not bacterial CYP153 type cytochrome P450 alkane hydroxylase, was involved in the alkane degradation.