BioProject

Bioremediation employs the metabolism of microorganisms for degradation of environmental pollutants. More...

Bioremediation employs the metabolism of microorganisms for degradation of environmental pollutants. Petroleum (or crude oil) is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, which are the most widespread contaminants in the environment. Various techniques have been attempted in the pursuit to detoxify petroleum contaminated sites, including in situ bioaugmentation, ex situ bioreactors, and chemical dispersants. The major problem with these techniques has historically been efficacy, expense, and collateral environmental hazard, respectively. Here we show a high efficacy, relatively inexpensive, low environmental impact, hybrid in situ/ex situ technique showcasing two newly characterized bacteria. Altogen Labs developed a microorganism isolation and selection process that includes a novel “positive-negative selection method” based on the selection of the most potent oil-degrading bacteria strain, as well as selection within-population for the most effective microorganisms that are specific for a particular soil environment. The technology is safe and based on an accelerating bioremediation process by re-introducing natural bacteria to the contamination site. Two synergistic bacteria were isolated in Texas along the Gulf of Mexico using this technique and whole-genome sequencing analysis revealed a genetic basis for the phenotypes seen in the lab. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique. We anticipate applying this to other soil sites to demonstrate its versatility and to show that the most effective bacteria for bioremediation depend on the unique in situ environment conditions. Less...