Benzene and Naphthalene Degrading Bacterial Communities in an Oil Sands Tailings Pond.

ABSTRACT: Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), produced by surface-mining of oil sands in Canada, is alkaline and contains high concentrations of salts, metals, naphthenic acids, and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs). Residual hydrocarbon biodegradation occurs naturally, but little is known about the hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities present in OSPW. In this study, aerobic oxidation of benzene and naphthalene in the surface layer of an oil sands tailings pond were measured. The potential oxidation rates were 4.3 μmol L^-1 OSPW d^-1 for benzene and 21.4 μmol L^-1 OSPW d^-1 for naphthalene. To identify benzene and naphthalene-degrading microbial communities, metagenomics was combined with stable isotope probing (SIP), high-throughput sequencing

SUBMITTER: Rochman FF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5627004 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature