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. 2021 Jan;105(1):401-415.
doi: 10.1007/s00253-020-11011-1. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Moniliella spathulata, an oil-degrading yeast, which promotes growth of barley in oil-polluted soil

Annett Mikolasch  1 , Ramza Berzhanova  2 , Anel Omirbekova  2 , Anne Reinhard  3 , Daniele Zühlke  3 , Mareike Meister  4 , Togzhan Mukasheva  2 , Katharina Riedel  3 , Tim Urich  3 , Frieder Schauer  3
Affiliations

Moniliella spathulata, an oil-degrading yeast, which promotes growth of barley in oil-polluted soil

Annett Mikolasch et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

The yeast strain Moniliella spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 was isolated from oil-contaminated soil at the Tengiz oil field in the Atyrau region of Kazakhstan on the basis of its unique ability to use crude oil and its components as the sole carbon and energy source. This yeast used a large number of hydrocarbons as substrates (more than 150), including n-alkanes with chain lengths ranging from C10 to C32, monomethyl- and monoethyl-substituted alkanes (C9-C23), and n-alkylcyclo alkanes with alkyl chain lengths from 3 to 24 carbon atoms as well as substituted monoaromatic and diaromatic hydrocarbons. Metabolism of this huge range of hydrocarbon substrates produced a very large number of aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic acids. Fifty-one of these were identified by GC/MS analyses. This is the first report of the degradation and formation of such a large number of compounds by a yeast. Inoculation of barley seeds with M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 had a positive effect on shoot and root development of plants grown in oil-contaminated sand, pointing toward potential applications of the yeast in bioremediation of polluted soils. KEY POINTS: • Moniliella spathulata an oil-degrading yeast • Increase of the growth of barley.

Keywords: Biphenyl; Crude oil; Dibenzofuran; Moniliella spathulata; Trichosporonoides spathulata.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Yeast-like cells with multilateral budding, b hyphae with acropetal sprouting blastokonidia, c arthroconidia of the yeast SBUG-Y 2180; 40-fold microscopic magnification
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Influence of M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 inoculation of barley seeds on the plant development in oil-containing sand after 7 days. Number of yeast cells of M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 at the beginning: 25 × 106 CFU/g sand
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Proposed degradation pathways of n-undecylcyclohexane by M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180. MC6C111–MC6C115 metabolites identified by GC/MS during incubation of M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 on n-undecylcyclohexane. M35 and M46 metabolites identified by GC/MS during growth on crude oil of M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 (detailed structural characterization of MC6C111–MC6C115 Supplementary Table S17, of M35 and M46 Supplementary Table S13). Enzymes detected by proteome analyses: moo, monooxygenase; alcd, alcohol dehydrogenase; aldd, aldehyde dehydrogenase; aCd, acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; abh, alpha-beta-hydrolase; 3OHaCd, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and thio, thiolase. Undetected intermediates in brackets. Solid arrows correspond to proven reaction steps. Dashed arrows correspond to assumed reaction steps
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Proposed diterminal oxidation pathway for the degradation of pristane and phytane by M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180 (detailed structural characterization of pristane metabolites in Supplementary Table S15). Enzymes detected by proteome analyses: moo, monooxygenase; alcd, alcohol dehydrogenase; aldd, aldehyde dehydrogenase; aCd, acyl-CoA dehydrogenase; abh, alpha-beta-hydrolase; 3OHaCd, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase; thio, thiolase; and phyCd, phytanoyl-CoA dioxygenase. Undetected intermediates in brackets
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Overview of transformation pathways for the main oil components by M. spathulata SBUG-Y 2180
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Supplementary concepts

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