Journal of Environmental Biology

Isolation and characterization of a Pseudomonas diesel-degrading strain from Antarctica

 

M.Y. Shukor*¹, N.A.A. Hassan¹, A.Z. Jusoh², N. Perumal¹, N.A. Shamaan¹, W.P. MacCormack³ and M.A. Syed¹

¹Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University

Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

²Food Technology Research Centre, Malaysian Agriculture and Research Development Institute,

P.O. Box 1230, 50774 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

³lnstituto Antartico Argentino, Cerrito 1248 (1010), Buenos Aires, Argentina

(Received: December 18, 2007; Revised received: June 10, 2008; Accepted: July 20, 2008)

Abstract: A diesel-degrading bacterium from Antarctica has been isolated. The isolate was tentatively identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain DRYJ3 based on partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny and Biolog? GN microplate panels and Microlog? database. Growth on diesel was supported optimally by ammonium sulphate, nitrate and nitrite. The bacterium grew optimally in between 10 and 15 ^oC, pH 7.0 and 3.5% (v/v) diesel. The biodegradation of diesel oil by the strain increased in efficiency from the second to the sixth day of incubation from 1.4 to 18.8% before levelling off on the eighth day. n-alkane oxidizing and aldehyde reductase activities were detected in the crude enzyme preparation suggesting the existence of terminal n-alkane oxidizing activity in this bacterium.

Key words: Pseudomonas, Diesel degradation, Antarctica

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