Enhanced biodegradation of crude oil in soil by a developed bacterial consortium and indigenous plant growth promoting bacteria.

Aims: This study aimed to develop an efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly bacterial consortium to degrade petroleum sludge.
Methods and Results: Four bacterial strains belonging to genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas were selected to constitute three different consortia based on their initial concentration. The highest degradation rate (78%) of 1% (v/v) crude oil after 4 weeks of incubation was recorded when the concentration of biosurfactant (BS) producing isolate was high. Genes, such as alkB, almA, cyp153, pah-rhdGN, nah, phnAC and cat23 were detected using the polymerase chain reaction method and their induction levels were optimal at pH 7·0. A crude oil sludge was artificially constituted, and its bacterial composition was investigated using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The results showed that the soil bacterial community was dominated by plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) after crude oil treatment.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate the decontamination of the crude oil contaminated soil was more effective in the presence of both the constituted consortium and PGPB compared to the presence of PGPB alone.
Significance and Impact of the Study: This study showed that the PGPB (Taibaiella) present in petroleum uncontaminated soil can promote the soil decontamination. The addition of both efficient hydrocarbon-degrading and BS producing bacteria is also necessary to improve the decontamination.
(© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)