Enriched microbial community in bioaugmentation of petroleum-contaminated soil in the presence of wheat straw

Abstract

The bioaugmentation of petroleum-contaminated soil using Enterobacter cloacae was profiled from the evolution of microbial community, soil dehydrogenase activity, to the degradation of petroleum contaminants. The seeding and proliferation of inoculant and the consequential microbial community were monitored by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of the amplification of V3 zone of 16S rDNA. Degradation process kinetics was characterized by the degradation ratio of nC17 to nC18. The dehydrogenase activity was also determined during the degradation process. An abrupt change in the microbial community after inoculation was illustrated as well as successive changes in response to degradation of the petroleum contaminants. Seeding with E. cloacae stimulated the growth of other degrading stains such as Pseudomonas sp. and Rhodothermus sp. The application of wheat straw as a representative lignin waste, at 5% (w/w), induced an increase in the total dehydrogenase activity from 0.50 to 0.79, an increase in the microbial content of 130% for bacteria and 84% for fungi, and an increase of the overall degradation ratio from 44% to 56% after 56 days of treatment. The above mentioned results have provided a microbial ecological insight being essential for the design and implementation of bioaugmentation processes.