Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation potential in mangrove sediment from Don Hoi Lot, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand.

AIMS: To assess the biodegradation potential of mixed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mangrove sediments. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sediment microcosms were constructed with sediment collected from Don Hoi Lot, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand, by supplementation with a mixture of acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene. At the end of 8 weeks, low molecular weight PAHs, acenaphthene and phenanthrene were completely degraded. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile suggests that Marinobacter, Enterobacter and Dethiosulfatibacter play important roles in PAH degradation in mangrove sediment. Furthermore, six PAH-degrading bacteria were isolated consisting of novel phenanthrene-degrading Dyella sp. and Luteibacter sp., phenanthrene-degrading Burkholderia sp., acenaphthene-degrading Alcaligenes sp. and pyrene-degrading Ochrobactrum sp. Moreover, dioxygenase genes could be detected both in sediment microcosms as well as in all of the isolated strains. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that indigenous bacteria in the mangrove sediment had the ability to degrade phenanthrene in the presence of mixture PAHs with high efficacy. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Culture and nonculture methods were combined to assess PAH biodegradation in mangrove sediment. Two novel phenanthrene-degrading bacteria were isolated. Three genera of bacteria that play important roles in PAH degradation were indicated by nonculture approach. Moreover, dioxygenase genes could be detected. This information is useful for further bioremediation of PAH-contaminated mangrove sediments.

Abundance and diversity of functional genes involved in the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons in Antarctic soils and sediments around Syowa Station.

Hydrocarbon catabolic genes were investigated in soils and sediments in nine different locations around Syowa Station, Antarctica, using conventional PCR, real-time PCR, cloning, and sequencing analysis. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase (PAH-RHD)-coding genes from both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were observed. Clone libraries of Gram-positive RHD genes were related to (i) nidA3 of Mycobacterium sp. py146, (ii) pdoA of Terrabacter sp. HH4, (iii) nidA of Diaphorobacter sp. KOTLB, and (iv) pdoA2 of Mycobacterium sp. CH-2, with 95-99% similarity. Clone libraries of Gram-negative RHD genes were related to the following: (i) naphthalene dioxygenase of Burkholderia glathei, (ii) phnAc of Burkholderia sartisoli, and (iii) RHD alpha subunit of uncultured bacterium, with 41-46% similarity. Interestingly, the diversity of the Gram-positive RHD genes found around this area was higher than those of the Gram-negative RHD genes. Real-time PCR showed different abundance of dioxygenase genes between locations. Moreover, the PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profile demonstrated diverse bacterial populations, according to their location. Forty dominant fragments in the DGGE profiles were excised and sequenced. All of the sequences belonged to ten bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Cyanobacteria, Chlorobium, and Acidobacteria. In addition, the bacterial genus Sphingomonas, which has been suggested to be one of the major PAH degraders in the environment, was observed in some locations. The results demonstrated that indigenous bacteria have the potential ability to degrade PAHs and provided information to support the conclusion that bioremediation processes can occur in the Antarctic soils and sediments studied here.