Isolation of hydrocarbon-degrading extremely halophilic archaea from an uncontaminated hypersaline pond (Camargue, France)

Little information exists about the ability of halophilic archaea present in hypersaline environments to degrade hydrocarbons. In order to identify the potential actors of hydrocarbon degradation in these environments, enrichment cultures were prepared using samples collected from a shallow crystall...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Extremophiles : life under extreme conditions 2010-03, Vol.14 (2), p.225-231
Main Authors: Tapilatu, Yosmina H, Grossi, Vincent, Acquaviva, Monique, Militon, Cécile, Bertrand, Jean-Claude, Cuny, Philippe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Archaea
Base Sequence
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
Biodegradation
Biodegradation, Environmental
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Brackish
Crystallization
DNA Primers - genetics
France
Fresh Water - microbiology
Fuel Oils
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Haloarcula
Haloarcula - classification
Haloarcula - genetics
Haloarcula - isolation & purification
Haloarcula - metabolism
Haloferax
Haloferax - classification
Haloferax - genetics
Haloferax - isolation & purification
Haloferax - metabolism
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons - metabolism
Life Sciences
Microbial Ecology
Microbiology
Microbiology and Parasitology
Molecular Sequence Data
Original Paper
Phylogeny
Ponds
RNA, Archaeal - genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Saline water
Salinity
Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism
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Summary:Little information exists about the ability of halophilic archaea present in hypersaline environments to degrade hydrocarbons. In order to identify the potential actors of hydrocarbon degradation in these environments, enrichment cultures were prepared using samples collected from a shallow crystallizer pond with no known contamination history in Camargue, France, with n-alkanes provided as source of carbon and energy. Five alkane-degrading halophilic archaeal strains were isolated: one (strain MSNC 2) was closely related to Haloarcula and three (strains MSNC 4, MSNC 14, and MSNC 16) to Haloferax. Biodegradation assays showed that depending on the strain, 32 to 95% (0.5 g/l) of heptadecane was degraded after 30 days of incubation at 40°C in 225 g/l NaCl artificial medium. One of the strains (MSNC 14) was also able to degrade phenanthrene. This work clearly shows for the first time the potential role of halophilic archaea belonging to the genera Haloarcula and Haloferax in the degradation of hydrocarbons in both pristine and hydrocarbon-contaminated hypersaline environments.
ISSN:1431-0651
1433-4909
DOI:10.1007/s00792-010-0301-z