Enhanced remediation of oil-contaminated intertidal sediment by bacterial consortium of petroleum degraders and biosurfactant producers

Oil pollution in intertidal zones is an important environmental issue that has serious adverse effects on coastal ecosystems . This study investigated the efficacy of a bacterial consortium constructed from petroleum degraders and biosurfactant producers in the bioremediation of oil-polluted sediment. Inoculation of the constructed consortium significantly enhanced the removal of C 8 –C 40 n -alkanes (80.2 ± 2.8% removal efficiency) and aromatic compounds (34.4 ± 10.8% removal efficiency) within 10 weeks. The consortium played dual functions of petroleum degradation and biosurfactant production, greatly improving microbial growth and metabolic activities. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed that the consortium markedly increased the proportions of indigenous alkane-degrading populations (up to 3.88-times higher than that of the control treatment). Microbial community analysis demonstrated that the exogenous consortium activated the degradation functions of indigenous microflora and promoted synergistic cooperation among microorganisms . Our findings indicated that supplementation of a bacterial consortium of petroleum degraders and biosurfactant producers is a promising bioremediation strategy for oil-polluted sediments.