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Diversity and Abundance of Oil-Degrading Bacteria and Alkane Hydroxylase (alkB) Genes in the Subtropical Seawater of Xiamen Island

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Abstract

In this report, the diversity of oil-degrading bacteria and alkB gene was surveyed in the seawater around Xiamen Island. Forty-four isolates unique in 16S rRNA sequence were obtained after enrichment with crude oil. Most of the obtained isolates exhibited growth with diesel oil and crude oil. alkB genes were positively detected in 16 isolates by degenerate polymerase chain reaction (PCR). And for the first time, alkB genes were found in bacteria of Gallaecimonas, Castellaniella, Paracoccus, and Leucobacter. Additional 29 alkB sequences were retrieved from genomic DNA of the oil-degrading communities. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the obtained alkB genes formed five groups, most of which exhibited 60–80% similarity at the amino acid level with sequences retrieved from the GenBank database. Furthermore, the abundance of alkB genes in seawater was examined by real-time PCR. The results showed that alkB genes of each group in situ ranged from about 3 × 103 to 3 × 105 copies L−1, with the homologs of Alcanivorax and Pseudomonas being the most predominant. Bacteria of Alcanivorax, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas are important oil degraders in this area; while those frequently reported in other area, like Oleiphilus spp., Oleispira spp., and Thalassolituus spp. were not found in our report. These results indicate that bacteria and genes involved in oil degradation are quite diverse, and may have restriction in geographic distribution in some species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30670051), the Science and Technology Program of Fujian Province of China (2009H0029), and the China Scholarship Council Program (2008631036).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Wanpeng Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, The Third Institute of Oceanography, State of Oceanic Administration, Daxue Road 178, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China

    Wanpeng Wang, Liping Wang & Zongze Shao

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  1. Wanpeng Wang
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  2. Liping Wang
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  3. Zongze Shao
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Correspondence to Zongze Shao.

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Supplementary Figure S1

Multiple alignment of each alkB group to show the conserved regions used for Q-PCR primer design. Q-PCR primers of each group were designed based on the two conserved regions labeled in grey pane. a. Group I-like alkB gene; b. Group II-like alkB gene; c. Group III-like alkB gene; d. Group IV-like alkB gene; e. Group V-like alkB gene. (GIF 750 kb)

High Resolution (TIFF 29953 kb)

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Wang, W., Wang, L. & Shao, Z. Diversity and Abundance of Oil-Degrading Bacteria and Alkane Hydroxylase (alkB) Genes in the Subtropical Seawater of Xiamen Island. Microb Ecol 60, 429–439 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-010-9724-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-010-9724-4

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