Monitoring of microbial hydrocarbon remediation in the soil

Abstract

Bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollutants is advantageous owing to the cost-effectiveness of the technology and the ubiquity of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms in the soil. Soil microbial diversity is affected by hydrocarbon perturbation, thus selective enrichment of hydrocarbon utilizers occurs. Hydrocarbons interact with the soil matrix and soil microorganisms determining the fate of the contaminants relative to their chemical nature and microbial degradative capabilities, respectively. Provided the polluted soil has requisite values for environmental factors that influence microbial activities and there are no inhibitors of microbial metabolism, there is a good chance that there will be a viable and active population of hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms in the soil. Microbial methods for monitoring bioremediation of hydrocarbons include chemical, biochemical and microbiological molecular indices that measure rates of microbial activities to show that in the end the target goal of pollutant reduction to a safe and permissible level has been achieved. Enumeration and characterization of hydrocarbon degraders, use of micro titer plate-based most probable number technique, community level physiological profiling, phospholipid fatty acid analysis, 16S rRNA- and other nucleic acid-based molecular fingerprinting techniques, metagenomics, microarray analysis, respirometry and gas chromatography are some of the methods employed in bio-monitoring of hydrocarbon remediation as presented in this review.

Comparison of distribution of oil-degrading filamentous fungi on subtropical Iriomote Island, Japan, and tropical Con Dao Island, Vietnam

“…This difference is depending upon variable elements such as environmental parameters and contamination conditions of the study areas. The numbers of ODF isolates in this study were lower than the previous studies in the contaminated areas such as Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Arabia and Indonesia, because quantity and composition of oil-degrader community in the environment increase rapidly after exposed to hydrocarbon (Chikere et al 2011).…”

Shift in microbial group during remediation by enhanced natural attenuation (RENA) of a crude oil-impacted soil: a case study of Ikarama Community, Bayelsa, Nigeria

“…This observation might be due to the vapor phase transfer method used during the preliminary isolation. Thus, it was likely that impurities in agar, and the ability of agar to absorb nutrient resulted in the growth and isolation of non-crude oil degraders as CHUB (Chikere et al 2011). In addition, not all hydrocarbon degraders, especially short and long chain alkane degraders can utilize hydrocarbons in the volatile state of vapor phase transfer method Shao 2012, 2013).…”

“…Vandalization of oil pipelines and illegal bunkering are the leading cause of anthropological crude oil pollution in developing countries. To reclaim crude oil-polluted sites, attention has been drawn to bioremediation owing to its eco-friendly, non-invasive, and cost-effective features (Adebusoye et al 2007;Chikere et al 2011;Silva-Castro et al 2015;Dados et al 2015;Nwogu et al 2015). However, for a successful bioremediation to be achieved, environmental (abiotic) and biotic factors that might hinder the rate of bioremediation are given major considerations.…”

Indoor Airborne Microbial Burden of Operating Theatres in a Tertiary Hospital in South-Western Nigeria

“…Similarly, Aspergillus spp were the frequently isolated species of fungi among other pathogenic fungi isolated from the operating theatres. This variation may be due to difference in the presence of carriers (infected peoples) and in cleaning procedures that affect the load of the organisms in the air as it was suggested by Chikere (Chikere et al, 2008).…”