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Biodegradation of diesel oil by cold-adapted bacterial strains of Arthrobacter spp. from Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2020

Mansur Abdulrasheed ,
Nur Nadhirah Zakaria ,
Ahmad Fareez Ahmad Roslee ,
Mohd Yunus Shukor ,
Azham Zulkharnain ,
Suhaimi Napis ,
Peter Convey ,
Siti Aisyah Alias ,
Gerardo Gonzalez-Rocha  and
Siti Aqlima Ahmad Open the ORCID record for Siti Aqlima Ahmad [Opens in a new window]
Mansur Abdulrasheed
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Gombe State University, P.M.B. 127, Gombe State, Nigeria
Nur Nadhirah Zakaria
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Ahmad Fareez Ahmad Roslee
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Yunus Shukor
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Azham Zulkharnain
Affiliation:
Department of Bioscience and Engineering, College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 307 Fukasaku, Minuma-ku, Saitama, 337-8570, Japan
Suhaimi Napis
Affiliation:
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Peter Convey
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, CambridgeCB3 0ET, UK
Siti Aisyah Alias
Affiliation:
National Antarctic Research Centre, B303 Level 3, Block B, IPS Building, Universiti Malaya, 50603Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Gerardo Gonzalez-Rocha
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Investigacion en Agentes Antibacterianos, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile
Siti Aqlima Ahmad*
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia National Antarctic Research Centre, B303 Level 3, Block B, IPS Building, Universiti Malaya, 50603Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*
aqlima@upm.edu.my
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Abstract

Bioremediation has been proposed as a means of dealing with oil spills on the continent. However, the introduction of non-native organisms, including microbes, even for this purpose would appear to breach the terms of the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty. This study therefore aimed to optimize the growth conditions and diesel degradation activity of the Antarctic native bacteria Arthrobacter spp. strains AQ5-05 and AQ5-06 through the application of a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach. Both strains were psychrotolerant, with the optimum temperature supporting diesel degradation being 10–15°C. Both strains were also screened for biosurfactant production and biofilm formation. Their diesel degradation potential was assessed using Bushnell–Haas medium supplemented with 0.5% (v/v) diesel as the sole carbon source and determined using both gravimetric and gas chromatography and mass spectrophotometry analysis. Strain AQ5-06 achieved 37.5% diesel degradation, while strain AQ5-05 achieved 34.5% diesel degradation. Both strains produced biosurfactants and showed high biofilm adherence. Strains AQ5-05 and AQ5-06 showed high cellular hydrophobicity rates of 73.0% and 81.5%, respectively, in hexadecane, with somewhat lower values of 60.5% and 70.5%, respectively, in tetrahexadecane. Optimized conditions identified via OFAT increased diesel degradation to 41.0% and 47.5% for strains AQ5-05 and AQ5-06, respectively. Both strains also demonstrated the ability to degrade diesel in the presence of heavy metal co-pollutants. This study therefore confirms the potential use of these cold-tolerant bacterial strains in the biodegradation of diesel-polluted Antarctic soils at low environmental temperatures.

Keywords

AntarcticaArthrobacterbioremediationcold-tolerantdieselone-factor-at-a-time
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 32 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 341 - 353
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Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2020

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