Degradation potential and microbial community structure of heavy oil-enriched microbial consortia from mangrove sediments in Okinawa, Japan

Mangroves constitute valuable coastal resources that are vulnerable to oil pollution. One of the major processes to remove oil from contaminated mangrove sediment is microbial degradation. A study on heavy oil- and hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial consortia from mangrove sediments in Okinawa, Japan was performed to evaluate their capacity to biodegrade and their microbial community composition. Surface sediment samples were obtained from mangrove sites in Okinawa (Teima, Oura, and Okukubi) and enriched with heavy oil as the sole carbon and energy source. The results revealed that all enriched microbial consortia degraded more than 20% of heavy oil in 21 days. The K1 consortium from Okukubi site showed the most extensive degradative capacity after 7 and 21 days. All consortia degraded more than 50% of hexadecane but had little ability to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The consortia were dominated by Pseudomonas or Burkholderia. When incubated in the presence of hydrocarbon compounds, the active bacterial community shifted to favor the dominance of Pseudomonas. The K1 consortium was a superior degrader, demonstrating the highest ability to degrade aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon compounds; it was even able to degrade heavy oil at a concentration of 15%(w/v). The dominance and turn-over of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia in the consortia suggest an important ecological role for and relationship between these two genera in the mangrove sediments of Okinawa.