THE INVISIBLE CLEAN-UP CREW: UNDERSTANDING PETROLEUM POLLUTION AND THE POWER OF NATIVE BACTERIA

Abstract

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination poses a severe ecological threat to the semi-arid Bundelkhand region, necessitating sustainable bioremediation alternatives to costly physicochemical cleanup methods. This study isolated and characterized indigenous oil-degrading bacteria from local polluted hot-spots, initially yielding 32 strains that were subsequently narrowed down to seven high-performing isolates via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Key strains included Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P1), Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus (P7), and Burkholderia cepacia (P4). The isolates were evaluated for their biochemical machinery, specifically Alkane Hydroxylase and Catechol 1,2-Dioxygenase activities, alongside biosurfactant production. Findings demonstrated that P1 achieved the highest overall degradation (78.3%) with significant thermotolerance, P7 specialized in degrading aliphatic fractions, and P4 excelled in aromatic ring cleavage. The study revealed a strong synergy between enzymatic activity and biosurfactant production, concluding that a constructed consortium of these complementary indigenous microbes provides a robust, validated strategy for mitigating petroleum pollution in challenging environments