Characterization of novel hydrocarbon-degrading Gordonia paraffinivorans and Gordonia sihwensis strains isolated from composting.

• Main Authors: Natalia Maria Silva, Aline Márcia Silva Araújo de Oliveira, Stefania Pegorin, Camila Escandura Giusti, Vitor Batista Ferrari, Deibs Barbosa, Layla Farage Martins, Carlos Morais, João Carlos Setubal, Suzan Pantaroto Vasconcellos, Aline Maria da Silva, Julio Cezar Franco de Oliveira, Renata Castiglioni Pascon, Cristina Viana-Niero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215396

Hydrocarbons are important environmental pollutants, and the isolation and characterization of new microorganisms with the ability to degrade these compounds are important for effective biodegradation. In this work we isolated and characterized several bacterial isolates from compost, a substrate rich in microbial diversity. The isolates were obtained from selective culture medium containing n-hexadecane, aiming to recover alkane-degraders. Six isolates identified as Gordonia by MALDI-TOF and 16S rRNA sequencing had the ability to degrade n-hexadecane in three days. Two isolates were selected for genomic and functional characterization, Gordonia paraffinivorans (MTZ052) and Gordonia sihwensis (MTZ096). The CG-MS results showed distinct n-hexadecane degradation rates for MTZ052 and MTZ096 (86% and 100% respectively). The genome sequence showed that MTZ052 encodes only one alkane degrading gene cluster, the CYP153 system, while MTZ096 harbors both the Alkane Hydroxylase (AH) and the CYP153 systems. qPCR showed that both gene clusters are induced by the presence of n-hexadecane in the growth medium, suggesting that G. paraffinivorans and G. sihwensis use these systems for degradation. Altogether, our results indicate that these Gordonia isolates have a good potential for biotransformation of hydrocarbons.