Biodegradation of Crude Oil by a Newly Isolated Strain Rhodococcus sp. JZX-01

Abstract

A highly efficient oil-degrading bacteria JZX-01 was isolated from the oil-contaminated soil of the seacoast near the Boxi Offshore Oil Field of China. Morphological, physiological, and 16S rDNA gene sequence analyses indicated that JZX-01 was assigned to the genus Rhodococcus sp. This strain decomposed 65.27 ± 5.63 % of the crude oil in 9 days. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that even the long-chain hydrocarbons (C31-C38) and branched alkanes (pristine and phytane), which were regarded as the stubborn ones, could be degraded. Further study showed that the bacteria still has good oil degradation ability at low temperatures as well as under high salt conditions. Moreover, JZX-01 was found to have a biosurfactant-producing capacity, which significantly favors the surface tension reduction and crude oil degradation. The promising isolated strain Rhodococcus sp. JZX-01 could be further used for the bioremediation of oil-polluted soil or seawater in a wide range of temperatures and high salt conditions.

Metabolic responses of Rhodococcus erythropolis PR4 grown on diesel oil and various hydrocarbons

“…Bacteria capable of utilizing alkanes as carbon and energy source have drawn significant interest in the last few decades. Many bacterial species have been identified as potential hydrocarbon biodegraders (Throne-Holst et al 2006;Feng et al 2007;Demnerova et al 2008;Lo Piccolo et al 2011;Uhlik et al 2012;Li et al 2013).…”

The complete genomic sequence of a novel cold-adapted bacterium, Planococcus maritimus Y42, isolated from crude oil-contaminated soil

“…3b ). The strain Y42 did not show a remarkably higher ability to degrade different components of crude oil than other strains such as Bacillus [ 20 , 21 ], Pseudomonas [ 22 , 23 ], Rhodococcus [ 24 ] and etceteras. Even so, as an indigenous oil-degrading bacterium, the existence of the P. maritimus strain Y42 played a significant role in reducing overall environmental impact of the oil [ 25 ] and greatly enriched microbial community structures in the oil-contaminated soils in low-temperature environments [ 26 ].…”

Theoretical Substantiation of the Petroleum Hydrocarbons Destruction by Specific Microflora Using Anaerobic Digestate

“…Rhodococcus sp. A has been reported to degrade 65.27±5.63 % of the crude oil in 9 days, and almost all components including pristane, phytane, and other longchain substrates were largely decomposed [7].…”