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7666445 
Journal Article 
Isolation and degradation potential of a cold-adapted oil/PAH-degrading marine bacterial consortium from Kongsfjorden (Arctic region) 
Crisafi, F; Giuliano, L; Yakimov, MM; Azzaro, M; Denaro, R; , 
2016 
1 
Rendiconti Lincei
ISSN: 1120-6349
EISSN: 1720-0776 
SPRINGER-VERLAG ITALIA SRL 
MILAN 
27 
1 
261-270 
English 
WOS:000382669200027 
The temperature is one of the most important factors determining the success of bioremediation processes in marine environment. This study focused on the isolation and characterization of marine hydrocarbons-degrading bacteria from a cold region. Seawater samples were collected in the Ny-lesund Harbor and in the proximity of Kronebreen glacier (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard), and immediately enriched with nutrients and hydrocarbons as sole source of carbon. Samples were maintained at 4 A degrees C for 90 days. Most probable number analyses showed a high number of hydrocarbons degraders from the samples collected in the harbor, while we were not able to detect hydrocarbon degraders in samples collected in the sea-ice region. The isolation was carried out at 4 and 15 A degrees C, and a list of 38 strains was obtained in pure culture using both oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as substrates. The selection inferred by the two different substrates was evident as oil favorites the growth of strains belonging to the gamma-proteobacteria: Pseudoalteromonas, Marinobacter, Oleispira, and Alcanivorax genera while naphthalene and phenanthrene selected mostly alpha-proteobacteria: Sphingopyxis, Rhodobacter, and Hyphomonas genera. The isolated have been further selected for the formulation of a microbial consortium to test their potential to degrade both oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at low temperature. Results demonstrated that the consortium was very active at 15 A degrees C at which the almost 90 % of TPH were degraded; at 4 A degrees C we were able to detect almost 80 % of degradation. Moreover, parallel single culture of each strain was not as efficient as in consortium. 
Arctic; Bacterial isolation; Bioremediation; Hydrocarbons