Utilization of Mixed Hydrocarbon Substrate by Petroleum-Degrading Microorganisms.

摘要

This report describes the first comparative study of petroleum-degrading yeasts, fungi, and bacteria, and their ability to degrade to mixed hydrocarbon substrate. The mixed hydrocarbon substrate employed contained aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Most of the bacteria and all of the yeasts and fungi were isolated from Chesapeake Bay. Normal alkanes were found to be less susceptible to degradation by bacteria and yeasts as the carbon chain length of the hydrocarbon increased from 10 to 20. Results obtained for some of the fungi showed that there was little correlation between chain length of normal alkane and susceptibility to biodegradation. Cumene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, pristane, 1,2-benzanthracene, perylene, and pyrene were found to be degraded by microorganisms. In general the patterns observed for hydrocarbon utilization were similar for the bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. However, the utilization of hydrocarbons by individual isolates varied significantly. Such information may prove useful in assessing the hydrocarbon-degrading potential of microorganisms.