Water Science and Technology (Jan 2023)

Bioaugmentation enhance the bioremediation of marine crude oil pollution: Microbial communities and metabolic pathways

  • Yu Gao,
  • Mengmeng Cai,
  • Ke Shi,
  • Rui Sun,
  • Suxiang Liu,
  • Qintong Li,
  • Xiaoyan Wang,
  • Wenxin Hua,
  • Yanlu Qiao,
  • Jianliang Xue,
  • Xinfeng Xiao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2022.406
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 87, no. 1
pp. 228 – 238

Abstract

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Bioaugmentation is an effective strategy used to speed up the bioremediation of marine oil spills. In the present study, a highly efficient petroleum degrading bacterium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ZS1) was applied to the bioremediation of simulated crude oil pollution in different sampling sites in the South China Sea. The metabolic pathways of ZS1 to degrade crude oil, the temporal dynamics of the microbial community response to crude oil contamination, and the biofortification process were investigated. The results showed that the abundance and diversity of the microbial community decreased sharply after the occurrence of crude oil contamination. The best degradation rate of crude oil, which was achieved in the samples from the sampling site N3 after the addition of ZS1 bacteria, was 50.94% at 50 days. C13 alkanes were totally oxidized by ZS1 in the 50 days. The degradation rate of solid n-alkanes (C18–C20) was about 70%. Based on the whole genome sequencing and the metabolites analysis of ZS1, we found that ZS1 degraded n-alkanes through the terminal oxidation pathway and aromatic compounds through the catechol pathway. This study provides data support for further research on biodegradation pathways of crude oil and contributes to the subsequent development of more reasonable bioremediation strategies. HIGHLIGHTS Pseudomonas aeruginosa ZS1 is an effective strain for bioremediation of crude oil.; ZS1 has an advantageous position in the bioremediation process.; Degradation pathway of n-alkanes and aromatic compound by ZS1 was revealed.;

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