Bacterial Communities Associated with Crude Oil Bioremediation through Composting Approaches with Indigenous Bacterial Isolate

Nilita Mukjang; Thararat Chitov; Wuttichai Mhuantong; Verawat Champreda; Wasu Pathom-Aree; Pachara Sattayawat; Sakunnee Bovonsombut

doi:10.3390/life12111712

Bacterial Communities Associated with Crude Oil Bioremediation through Composting Approaches with Indigenous Bacterial Isolate

Life (Basel). 2022 Oct 27;12(11):1712. doi: 10.3390/life12111712.

Authors

Nilita Mukjang^{1

2}, Thararat Chitov^{1

3}, Wuttichai Mhuantong⁴, Verawat Champreda⁴, Wasu Pathom-Aree^{1

5

6}, Pachara Sattayawat^{1

5

6}, Sakunnee Bovonsombut^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
² Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
³ Environmental Science Research Center (ESRC), Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
⁴ Biorefinery and Bioproduct Technology Research Group National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
⁵ Research Center in Bioresources for Agriculture, Industry and Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
⁶ Research Center of Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

Abstract

In this study, we aim to investigate the efficiency of crude oil bioremediation through composting and culture-assisted composting. First, forty-eight bacteria were isolated from a crude oil-contaminated soil, and the isolate with the highest crude oil degradation activity, identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was selected. The bioremediation was then investigated and compared between crude oil-contaminated soil (S), the contaminated soil composted with fruit-based waste (SW), and the contaminated soil composted with the same waste with the addition of the selected bacterium (SWB). Both compost-based methods showed high efficiencies of crude oil bioremediation (78.1% and 83.84% for SW and SWB, respectively). However, only a slight difference between the treatments without and with the addition of P. aeruginosa was observed. To make a clear understanding of this point, bacterial communities throughout the 4-week bioremediation period were analyzed. It was found that the community dynamics between both composted treatments were similar, which corresponds with their similar bioremediation efficiencies. Interestingly, Pseudomonas disappeared from the system after one week, which suggests that this genus was not the key degrader or only involved in the early stage of the process. Altogether, our results elaborate that fruit-based composting is an effective approach for crude oil bioremediation.

Keywords: Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS); biodegradation; bioremediation; compost; crude oil; organic waste; petroleum.

Grants and funding

Please add: N.M. was supported by the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project (DPST, under the Royal Government of Thailand Scholarship grant). This research work was partially supported by Chiang Mai University, Thailand.