Linkage between biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phospholipid profiles in soil isolates

Abstract

A bacterial consortium capable of utilizing a variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been isolated from a former manufactured gas plant site. The consortium consisted of four members including Arthrobacter sp., Burkholderia sp., Ochrobacterium sp., and Alcaligenes sp., which were identified and characterized by the patterns of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME analysis) and carbon source utilization (BIOLOG system). With the individual members, the biodegradation characteristics of aromatic hydrocarbons depending on different growth substrates were determined. FAME analyses demonstrated that microbial fatty acid profiles changed to significant extents in response to different carbon sources, and hence, such shift profiles may be informative to characterize the biodegradation potential of a bacterium or microbial community.