Phenotypic and molecular characterization of bacterial populations isolated from diesel-contaminated soil and treated by two bioremediation technologies

In this study bioremediation is presented as an alternative for the recovery of contaminated ecosystems. In this work an experimental diesel spill on pasture land was remediated using two bioremediation technologies: natural attenuation, which is the natural capability of indigenous microorganisms to degrade a xenobiotic component in a determined time, and biostimulation, which consist in the acceleration of the degradation process through the stimulation of the metabolism of indigenous microorganisms by the addition of nutrients (P and N) to the media. Results of respirometry assays indicated that both treatments produced significant levels of hydrocarbon removal but the biostimulation treatment stranded out with 98.17% degradation. Seven bacterial isolates were obtained from these treatments which according to their molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis belong to the genus: Enterobacter, Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Sanguibacter, Staphylococcus and Flavobacterium. All isolates were able to metabolize diesel as a carbon and energy source; for this reason and taking into account that for some of these microorganisms their role in bioremediation have not been extensively studied, it is recommended to continue with their evaluation to know their real potential for the solution of environmental problems.