Numerical taxonomy and ecology of petroleum-degrading bacteria

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977 · Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5166159

Austin, B; Calomiris, J J; Walker, J D; Colwell, R R

A total of 99 strains of petroleum-degrading bacteria isolated from Chesapeake Bay water and sediment were identified by using numerical taxonomy procedures. The isolates, together with 33 reference cultures, were examined for 48 biochemical, cultural, morphological, and physiological characters. The data were analyzed by computer, using both the simple matching and the Jaccard coefficients. Clustering was achieved by the unweighted average linkage method. From the sorted similarity matrix and dendrogram, 14 phenetic groups, comprising 85 of the petroleum-degrading bacteria, were defined at the 80 to 85% similarity level. These groups were identified as actinomycetes (mycelial forms, four clusters), coryneforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Klebsiella aerogenes, Micrococcus spp. (two clusters), Nocardia species (two clusters), Pseudomonas spp. (two clusters), and Sphaerotilus natans. It is concluded that the degradation of petroleum is accomplished by a diverse range of bacterial taxa, some of which were isolated only at given sampling stations and, more specifically, from sediment collected at a given station.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Maryland, College Park
• OSTI ID: 5166159
• Journal Information: Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States), Journal Name: Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States) Vol. 34:1; ISSN AEMID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900 -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
560302* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Microorganisms-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BACTERIA
BIOCHEMISTRY
BIODEGRADATION
BIOLOGY
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CHESAPEAKE BAY
DECOMPOSITION
ECOLOGY
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MARYLAND
MICROORGANISMS
MORPHOLOGY
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM
PHYSIOLOGY
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
TAXONOMY
USA