Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biological degradation of toluene by indigenous bacteria Acinetobacter junii CH005 isolated from petroleum contaminated sites in India

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Energy, Ecology and Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The bacterium Acinetobacter junii was isolated from petroleum-contaminated site in India and tested for its efficiency in degradation of toluene under aerobic condition. Within pH range 4–9, the optimum pH for toluene biodegradation was found to be 7.5. With increase in time, there was enhancement in degradation of toluene. Pure culture of Acinetobacter junii was able to degrade 69, 73 and 80% of 150, 100, and 50 ppm toluene, respectively, within 72 h at 37 °C. Simultaneous growth and degradation of toluene by the bacterium indicated the utilization of toluene as carbon source. After 72 h of treatment, toluene biodegradation was nearly stable. Scanning electron microscopic characterization of bacterial cells treated with toluene revealed the changes in surface morphology. Some of the cylindrical cells of bacterium got transformed into ovoid and spherical shape to escape the toluene toxicity. Degradation intermediates were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. The major intermediate compounds identified after toluene degradation by bacteria were 1-isopropenyl-4-methyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene; 1,3-Cyclohexadiene; 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl); 4-methoxycarbonyl-4-butanolide; and vinyl (2E,4E)-2,4-hexadienoate, which are less-toxic in nature. The degradation of toluene into non-toxic intermediate compounds as well as the growth in the presence of toluene presents the suitability of Acinetobacter junii in biofiltration of toluene-containing petroleum waste.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdelwahab O, Amin NK, El-Ashtoukhy EZ (2009) Electrochemical removal of phenol from oil refinery wastewater. J Hazard Mater 163(2):711–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Affandi IE, Suratman NH, Abdullah S, Ahmad WA, Zakaria ZA (2014) Degradation of oil and grease from high-strength industrial effluents using locally isolated aerobic biosurfactant-producing bacteria. Int Biodeter Biodegr 95:33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashwaniy VRV, Perumalsamy M (2017) Reduction of organic compounds in petro-chemical industry effluent and desalination using Scenedesmus abundans algal microbial desalination cell. J Environ Chem Engg 5(6):5961–5967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atlas RM (1985) Effects of hydrocarbons on microorganisms and petroleum biodegradation in arctic ecosystems. Petroleum Effects in the Arctic Environment 63–100

  • Cerniglia CE (1984) Microbial metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Adv Appl Microbiol 30:31–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CS, Hseu YC, Liang SH, Kuo JY, Chen SC (2008) Assessment of genotoxicity of methyl-tert-butyl ether, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene to human lymphocytes using comet assay. J Hazard Mater 153(1):351–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho MC, Kang DO, Yoon BD, Lee K (2000) Toluene degradation pathway from Pseudomonas putida F1: substrate specificity and gene induction by 1-substituted benzenes. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 25(3):163–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz E, Jiménez JI, Nogales J (2013) Aerobic degradation of aromatic compounds. Curr Opin Biotech 24(3):431–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dilly O, Nii-Annang S, Franke G, Fischer T, Buegger F, Zyakun A (2011) Resilience of microbial respiration, respiratory quotient and stable isotope characteristics to soil hydrocarbon addition. Soil Biol Biochem 43:1809–1812

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobslaw D, Engesser KH (2015) Degradation of toluene by ortho cleavage enzymes in Burkholderia fungorum FLU100. Microb Biotechno 8(1):143–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorer C, Vogt C, Neu TR, Stryhanyuk H, Richnow HH (2016) Characterization of toluene and ethylbenzene biodegradation under nitrate, iron(III) and manganese(IV) reducing conditions by compound-specific isotope analysis. Environ Poll 211:271–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durmusoglu E, Taspinar F, Karademir A (2010) Health risk assessment of BTEX emissions in the landfill environment. J Hazard Mater 176:870–877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felsenstein J (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. Evol 39:783–791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Floodgate GD (1984) The fate of petroleum in marine ecosystems in Petroleum. In: Atlas RM (ed) Petroleum microbiology. Macmillion, New York, pp 355–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs G, Boll M, Heider J (2011) Microbial degradation of aromatic compounds from one strategy to four. Nat Rev Microbiol 9(11):803–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopinath M, Mohanapriya C, Sivakumar K, Baskar G, Muthukumaran C, Dhanasekar R (2016) Microbial abatement of toluene using Aspergillus niger in upflow bioreactor. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 34:370–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goyal AK, Zylstra GJ (1997) Genetics of naphthalene and phenanthrenedegradation by Comamonas testosterone. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 19(5–6):401–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo J, Al-Dahhan M (2005) Catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol in concurrent downflow and upflow packed-bed reactors over pillared clay catalyst. Chem Eng Sci 60(3):735–746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang B, Lei C, Wei C, Zeng G (2014) Chlorinated volatile organic compounds (ClVOCs) in environment—sources, potential human health impacts, and current remediation technologies. Environ Int 71:118–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones D, Head I, Gray N, Adams J, Rowan A, Aitken C, Bennett B (2007) Crude-oil biodegradation via methanogenesis in subsurface petroleum reservoirs Nat 451(7175):176–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim S, Krajmalnik-Brown R, Kim JO, Chung J (2014) Remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated sites by DNA diagnosis-based bioslurping technology. Sci Tot Environ 497–498:250–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura M (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rate of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J Mol Evol 16:111–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee EH, Ryu HW, Cho KS (2009) Removal of benzene and toluene in polyurethane biofilter immobilizedwith Rhodococcus sp. EH831 under transient loading. BioresTechnol 100:5656–5663

    Google Scholar 

  • Margesin R, Schinner F (2001) Biodegradation and bioremediation of hydrocarbons in extreme environments. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 56(5–6):650–663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mastrangela G, Emanuela F, Vita M (1997) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and cancer in man. Environ Health Perspect 104:1166–1170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzeo DEC, Levy CE, de Angelis DDF, Marin-Morales MA (2010) BTEX biodegradation by bacteria from effluents of petroleum refinery. Sci Tot Environ 408(20):4334–4340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michael E, Nitzan Y, Langzam Y, Luboshits G, Cahan R (2016) Effect of toluene on Pseudomonas stutzeri ST-9 morphology-plasmolysis, cell size, and formation of outer membrane vesicles. Can J Microbiol 62(8):682–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohan SV, Kisa T, Ohkuma T, Kanaly RA, Shimizu Y (2006) Bioremediation technologies for treatment of PAH-contaminated soil and strategies to enhance process efficiency. Rev Environ Sci Bio/Technol 5(4):347–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paje ML, Marks P, Couperwhite I (1998) Degradation of benzene by a Rhodococcus sp. using immobilized cell systems. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 14:675–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng C, Lee JW, Sichani HT, Ng JC (2015) Toxic effects of individual and combined effects of BTEX on Euglena gracilis. J Hazard Mater 284:10–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahul, Mathur AK, Balomajumder C (2013) Performance evaluation and model analysis of BTEX contaminated air in corn-cob biofilter system. BioresTechnol 133:166–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajamanickam R, Kaliyamoorthi K, Ramachandran N, Baskaran D, Krishnan J (2017) Batch biodegradation of toluene by mixed microbial consortia and its kinetics. Int Biodeter Biodegrad 119:282–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robledo-Ortíz JR, Ramírez-Arreola DE, Pérez-Fonseca AA, Gómez C, González-Reynoso O, Ramos-Quirarte J, González-Núñez R (2011) Benzene, toluene, and o-xylene degradation by free and immobilized P. putida F1 of postconsumer agave-fiber/polymer foamed composites. Int Biodeter Biodegrad 65(3):539–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saitou N, Nei M (1987) The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Mol Biol Evol 4(4):406–425

    Google Scholar 

  • Shu HY, Huang CR (1995) Degradation of commercial azo dyes in water using ozonation and UV enhanced ozonation process. Chemosphere 31(8):3813–3825

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh R, Celin SM (2010) Biodegradation of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene) compounds by bacterial strain under aerobic conditions. J Ecobiotechnol 2(4):27–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh P, Ojha A, Borthakur A, Singh R, Lahiry D, Tiwary D, Mishra PK (2016) Emerging trends in photodegradation of petrochemical wastes: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23(22):22340–22364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh P, Jain R, Srivastava N, Borthakur A, Pal D, Singh R, Madhav S, Srivastava P, Tiwary D, Mishra PK (2017) Current and emerging trends in bioremediation of petrochemical waste: a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Tech 47(3):155–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slominska M, Krol S, Namiesnik J (2012) Removal of BTEX compounds from waste gases: destruction and recovery techniques. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 43:1417–1445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stasik S, Wick LY, Wendt-Potthoff K (2015) Anaerobic BTEX degradation in oil sands tailings ponds: impact of labile organic carbon and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Chemosphere 138:133–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taha M, Shahsavari E, Aburto-Medina A, Foda MF, Clarke B, Roddick F, Ball AS (2017) Bioremediation of biosolids with Phanerochaete chrysosporium culture filtrates enhances the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Appl Soil Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.11.002

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamura K, Peterson D, Peterson N, Stecher G, Nei M, Kumar S (2011) MEGA5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Mol Biol Evol 28:2731–2739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian W, Yao J, Liu R, Zhu M, Wang F, Wu X, Liu H (2016) Effect of natural and synthetic surfactants on crude oil biodegradation by indigenous strains. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 129:171–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt C, Dorer C, Musat F, Richnow HH (2016) Multi-element isotope fractionation concepts to characterize the biodegradation of hydrocarbons-from enzymes to the environment. Curr Opin Biotechnol 41:90–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xin BP, Wu CH, Wu CH, Lin CW (2013) Bioaugmented remediation of high concentration BTEX-contaminated groundwater by permeable reactive barrier with immobilized bead. J Hazard Mater 244–245:765–772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Zhang C, Cheng Z, Yao Y, Chen J (2013) Biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene by the bacterium Mycobacterium cosmeticum byf-4. Chemosphere 90(4):1340–1347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang S, You J, Kennes C, Cheng Z, Ye J, Chen D, Chen J, Wang L (2018) Current advances of VOCs degradation by bioelectrochemical systems: a review. Chem Eng J 334:2625–2637

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to University Grants Commission (UGC) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, for providing research fellowships.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India

    Pardeep Singh & Dhanesh Tiwary

  2. Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, 110065, India

    Pardeep Singh

  3. Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Vipin Kumar Singh

  4. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Rishikesh Singh

  5. Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, 110067, India

    Anwesha Borthakur

  6. Department of Plant Science, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Periye, 671314, India

    Ajay Kumar

  7. Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India

    P. K. Mishra

Authors
  1. Pardeep Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vipin Kumar Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rishikesh Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anwesha Borthakur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ajay Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Dhanesh Tiwary
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. P. K. Mishra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pardeep Singh.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Singh, P., Singh, V.K., Singh, R. et al. Biological degradation of toluene by indigenous bacteria Acinetobacter junii CH005 isolated from petroleum contaminated sites in India. Energ. Ecol. Environ. 3, 162–170 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-018-0089-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-018-0089-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation