Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Drechsleraspicifera Isolated from Contaminated Soil in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Environmental interactions between protists and bacterial communities in hydrocarbon degradation

Reclamation of petroleum-polluted environments is a key issue for today and in the future, as our reliance on oil will persist for decades. An eco-friendly solution is to use microbes that play a role in petroleum-hydrocarbon degradation. However, as hydrocarbon degradation involves a multi-step process involving different functional groups, focusing only on finding efficient bacterial species will not be the complete solution. Heterotrophic protists are unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms that could play a role in remediation of ecosystems by enhancing petroleum-hydrocarbon degradation through different mechanisms. This mini-review discusses the importance of protists in the degradation of petroleum-hydrocarbon and their predatory impact on hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial communities. Additionally, the effect of hydrocarbons on protistan community structure and protistan cells is discussed. A better understanding of the puzzle hydrocarbon-protist interactions will significantly increase our knowledge of how to employ these microbes for bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollutants.

Exploration and characterization of a newly isolated bacterium, Enterobacter quasihormaechei strain BDIFST24001, capable of producing rhamnolipid biosurfactant for oil remediation

Biosurfactants are naturally occurring compounds synthesized by micro-organisms that increasingly attract attention due to both their living area and application in various industries. In this study, we explore and characterize a novel bacterium, Enterobacter quasihormaechei strain BDIFST24001, isolated for its ability to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants, with the aim of facilitating oil remediation processes. The isolation of this bacterium was carried out using Luria-Bertani (LB) broth media from environmental samples collected from oil-contaminated sites in Dhaka City. Screening tests, including the oil spreading method and drop collapse assay, were conducted to identify potential biosurfactant-producing strains, leading to the selection of E. quasihormaechei strain BDIFST24001 based on its favourable performance. Subsequent molecular identification revealed a high similarity of the strain's 16S rRNA gene to E. quasihormaechei, which was corroborated through phylogenetic analysis. Further analysis of the biosurfactant produced by this strain indicated its rhamnolipid nature, as confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The rhamnolipids exhibited promising surface-active properties, including a significant reduction in surface tension and emulsification activity, as evidenced by surface tension measurements and emulsification index assays. Optimization studies revealed that the optimal conditions for rhamnolipid production by E. quasihormaechei strain BDIFST24001 were a temperature of 37 °C, pH 10.0 and salinity of 4 %. The rhamnolipids produced by this strain demonstrated effective oil remediation capabilities, as observed through controlled experiments using petrol oil. The rhamnolipids effectively reduced the surface tension of the oil-water interface, facilitating the dispersion and emulsification of the oil phase in water. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of E. quasihormaechei strain BDIFST24001 as a promising candidate for biosurfactant-mediated oil spill cleanup and environmental remediation efforts.

Silver nanoparticles improve the fungicidal properties of Rhazya stricta decne aqueous extract against plant pathogens

One of the most promising, non-toxic, and biocompatible developments for many biological activities is the green synthesis of nanoparticles from plants. In this work, we investigated the antifungal activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesized from Rhazya stricta aqueous extract against several plant pathogenic fungi. UV-visible spectroscopy, Zeta potential analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmitted electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the biosynthesized AgNPs. Drechslera halodes, Drechslera tetramera, Macrophomina phaseolina, Alternaria alternata, and Curvularia australiensis were tested for their potential antifungal activity. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) of Aq. AgNPs and Alkaline Aq. AgNPs was observed at 405 nm and 415 nm, respectively. FTIR analysis indicated hydroxyl, nitrile, amine, and ketone functional groups. Aq. AgNPs and Alka-line Aq. AgNPs had velocities of - 27.7 mV and - 37.9 mV and sizes of 21-90 nm and 7.2-25.3 nm, respectively, according to zeta potential studies and TEM. The antifungal examination revealed that all species' mycelial development was significantly inhibited, accompanied by severe ultra-structural alterations. Among all treatments, Aq. AgNPs were the most effective fungicide. M. phaseolina was statistically the most resistant, whereas A. alternata was the most vulnerable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on R. stricta's antifungal activity against these species.

Biodegradation of Selected Hydrocarbons by Fusarium Species Isolated from Contaminated Soil Samples in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Microbial biodegradation of oil-hydrocarbons is one of the sustainable and cost-effective methods to remove petroleum spills from contaminated environments. The current study aimed to investigate the biodegradation abilities of three Fusarium isolates from oil reservoirs in Saudi Arabia. The novelty of the current work is that the biodegradation ability of these isolates was never tested against some natural hydrocarbons of variable compositions, such as Crude oil, and those of known components such as kerosene and diesel oils.

METHODS

The isolates were treated with five selected hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon tolerance test in solid and liquid media was performed. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigated the morphological changes of treated fungi. 2, 6-Dichlorophenol Indophenol (DCPIP), drop collapse, emulsification activity, and oil Spreading assays investigated the biodegradation ability. The amount of produced biosurfactants was measured, and their safety profile was estimated by the germination assay of tomato seeds.

RESULTS

The tolerance test showed enhanced fungal growth of all isolates, whereas the highest dose inhibition response (DIR) was 77% for Fusarium proliferatum treated with the used oil (p < 0.05). SEM showed morphological changes in all isolates. DCPIP results showed that used oil had the highest biodegradation by Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium oxysporum. Mixed oil induced the highest effect in oil spreading, drop collapse, and emulsification assay caused by F. proliferatum. The highest recovery of biosurfactants was obtained by the solvent extraction method for F. verticillioides (4.6 g/L), F. proliferatum (4.22 g/L), and F. oxysporum (3.73 g/L). The biosurfactants produced by the three isolates stimulated tomato seeds' germination more than in control experiments.

CONCLUSION

The current study suggested the possible oil-biodegradation activities induced by three Fusarium isolates from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The produced biosurfactants are not toxic against tomato seed germination, emphasizing their environmental sustainability. Further studies are required to investigate the mechanism of biodegradation activities and the chemical composition of the biosurfactants produced by these species.