Alcanivorax borkumensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new, hydrocarbon-degrading and surfactant-producing marine bacterium

Abstract

During screening for biosurfactant-producing, n-alkane-degrading marine bacteria, six heterotrophic bacterial strains were isolated from enriched mixed cultures, obtained from sea waterkediment samples collected near the Isle of Borkum (North Sea), using Mihagol-S (C,,,,-n-al kanes)as principal carbon source. These Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria use a limited number of organic compounds, including aliphatic hydrocarbons, volatile fatty acids, and pyruvate and its methyl ether. During cultivation on n-alkanes as sole source of carbon and energy, all strains produced both extracellular and cell-bound surface-active glucose lipids which reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 29 mN m-' (16). This novel class of glycolipids was found to be produced only by these strains. The 165 rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that these strains are all members of the y-subclass of the Proteobacteria. Their phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid composition was shown to be similar to that of members of the genus Halomonas, although they did not demonstrate a close phylogenetic relationship to any previously described species. On the basis of the information summarized above, a new genus and species, Akaniworax borkumensis, is described to include these bacteria. Strain SKZT is the type strain of A. borkumensis.

Structural Determination and Proposed Biosynthesis of Alcanivorone, a Novel α-Pyrone Produced by Alcanivorax jadensis

“…The signal intensities of C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, 6-CH 3 , C-2Ј 2Ј-CH 3 , and C-3Ј were higher than those of the non-labeled compound, and 13 C-13 C coupling of C-3-C-4 (J CC ϭ70 Hz), C-5-C-3Ј (J CC ϭ63 Hz), C-6-6-CH 3 (J CC ϭ54 Hz), and C-2Ј-2Ј-CH 3 (J CC ϭ44 Hz) was observed (Table 1). These results indicated that 6-CH 3 and 2Ј-CH 3 were also from pyruvate, and the incorporation pattern of [2,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] C 2 ] pyruvate into 1 is shown in Fig. 2B, supporting the proposed biosynthesis of 1.…”

“…Strains of the Alcanivorax group were first isolated from the North Sea as biosurfactant-producing and alkanedegrading marine bacteria, and have also been found in a variety of marine environments including oil spillcontaminated sites [2,3]. These strains have been shown to be important for the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in a marine environment, especially under bioremediation conditions [4].…”

Obligate oil-degrading marine bacteria

“…Since the description of the first OHCB, Alcanivorax borkumensis [7,8], four further genera of OHCB, represented by seven validly published species, have been reported (Figure 1). The genera Alcanivorax and Cycloclasticus include both OHCB, like A. borkumensis, A. jadensis [8,9], A.…”

Marine Oil-Degrading Microorganisms and Biodegradation Process of Petroleum Hydrocarbon in Marine Environments: A Review

“…[35] Naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and pyrene Aeram onas punctata TII [14,53] Phenanthrene and Chrysene Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, Marinomonas [31] n-Alkanes aromatic hydrocarbon, naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene Cycloclasticus oligotrophus [23,73] n-Alkanes, branched alkanes and alkylbenzenes Alcanivorax sp. [22,29,30,48,75] Aliphatic hydrocarbons, alkanoles, and alkanoates Oleiphilusand, Oleispira [28,74] Alkanes…”