Sadaf Shahab, Iqra Shafi, Nuzhat Ahmed.
Indigenous Oil Degrading Bacteria: Isolation, Screening and Characterization.
Natl J Health Sci Jan ;2(3):100-5.

Background: Oil contamination is increasing at an alarming rate and to overcome to this problem the most efficient method used is biodegradation. Biodegradation is a natural mechanism that can be used effectively for degradation of recalcitrant hydrocarbon pollutants prevailed in the environment by employing environmentally friendly microbes. Methods: Strain CMG 457 was isolated from petrol pump site from Firdous Colony, Karachi and was identified as Enterobacter sp. after morphological and biochemical characterization. Strain resistance towards different organic hydrocarbons (paraffin, aromatics and pesticides) and utilization of various organic compounds as sole carbon source were analyzed on Nutrient agar. MIC of antibiotics and heavy metals was checked on Bushnell Haas (BH) agar at 37°C for 24 hrs. Results: Research investigated the role of Enterobacter sp. in biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The results showed that the bacterium is a gram-negative aerobic bacillus. Enterobacter sp. designated as CMG 457 was screened for oil degradation using BH agar. Resistance of strain against different organic hydrocarbons was tested and CMG 457 showed high resistance of upto 50% against paraffin. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of heavy metals and antibiotic sensitivity were investigated for bacterial strains. Screening for antibiotic resistance revealed that CMG 457 was resistant to ampicillin and erythromycin and was able to tolerate heavy metals like CuSO4, CdCl2 and CrCl2 upto 3mM. Conclusions: From the study, it is concluded that oil contaminated areas are the best source for isolation of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria. Enterobacter sp. has a potential for oil degradation as it showed better hydrocarbon degrading ability.

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