Abstract

Petroleum pollution of coastal areas such as Nigeria’s Niger Delta is increasingly alarming. After an oil spill, aquatic organisms, including indigenous microbial communities are affected, leading to an increased abundance of oil degraders in the affected environment. During the last decade, microbial ecology research has shifted from cultivation and characterization of individual environmental isolates to metagenomics studies that are focused on the characterization of community dynamics and composition. In this study, we determined the indigenous bacterial community in water bodies polluted with crude oil in Delta State, Nigeria by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Oil hydrocarbon composition was determined by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry analysis (GC–MS) and the physical-chemical dynamics were assessed using standard procedures. Results revealed Proteobacteria (76.9%), Bacteroidetes (8.5%) and Firmicutes (1.1%) as the dominant phyla. GC–MS data revealed different petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations across the seasons and locations sampled. The indigenous bacterial community included the prevalence of oil degrades with Methylotenera as the major genus. This study suggests that Methylotenera could be a useful agent for bioremediation in the Niger Delta.

摘要

尼日利亚尼日尔三角洲等沿海地区的石油污染日益令人担忧。石油泄漏后，包括本地微生物群落在内的水生生物受到影响，导致受影响环境中石油降解剂的数量增加。在过去的十年中，微生物生态学研究已经从单个环境分离物的培养和表征转变为专注于群落动态和组成表征的宏基因组学研究。在这项研究中，我们通过下一代测序 (NGS) 确定了尼日利亚三角洲被原油污染的水体中的本地细菌群落。通过气相色谱-质谱分析 (GC-MS) 确定油烃组成，并使用标准程序评估物理化学动力学。变形菌门(76.9%)、拟杆菌门(8.5%) 和厚壁菌门(1.1%) 作为优势门。GC-MS 数据揭示了不同季节和采样地点的不同石油烃浓度。土著细菌群落包括以Methylotenera作为主要属的油降解的流行。这项研究表明，Methylotenera可能是尼日尔三角洲生物修复的有用药剂。