Abstract

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Hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria in environmental samples collected from crude oil impacted sites at Eleme, Rivers State, and five water samples from effluent discharge points at five different flow-stations in Delta State, all in the Niger Delta were isolated using Bushnell Haas agar. Bacterial genera tentatively characterized were Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Edwardsiella, Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, Klebsiella, Micrococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus. A portion of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) gene of the genomic DNA extracted from each bacterial isolate was amplified (ca.550bp) with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the universal primer set 27F: GAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG and 1492R: GGTTACCTTGTTACGACT to amplify the DNA between positions 27 and 1492 of bacterial 16S rRNA genes- Sequence analysis revealed the presence of distinct known hydrocarbon degrading bacteria like Myroides odoratus, diverse strains of Bacteroides propionifaciens sp. nov, Myroides pelagicus, Myroides odoratus strain BVC 52, Proteus penneri strain YAK6, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus vidgaris strain knp3, Proteus vulgaris strain E14, Myroides odoratimimus strain LWD09, Proteus penneri strain YCY 34, Myroides Odoratimimus strain CM9, Myroides Odoratimimus strain YCT1, Alcaligenes sp. CRRI 27, Zooglea ramigera, Alcaligenes sp. XW3, Bacteroides caccae, Proteus penneri strain FFL8 and Alcaligenes sp. ICT-6. Sequences of Myroides and Proteus species were the dominant populations within the hydrocarbon utilizers and have been previously associated with hydrocarbon degradation.

Keywords: GenBank; Hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria; Niger Delta; Polymerase chain reaction; 16S rRNA gene.