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Characterization of the indigenous PAH-degrading bacteria of Spartina dominated salt marshes in the New York/New Jersey Harbor

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Abstract

The aerobic polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degrading microbial communities of two petroleum-impacted Spartina-dominated salt marshes in the New York/New Jersey Harbor were examined using a combination of microbiological, molecular and chemical techniques. Microbial isolation studies resulted in the identification of 48 aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial strains from both vegetated and non-vegetated marsh sediments. The majority of the isolates were from the genera Paenibacillus and Pseudomonas. Radiotracer studies using 14C-phenanthrene and 14C-pyrene were used to measure the PAH-mineralization activity in salt marsh sediments. The results suggested a trend towards increased PAH mineralization in vegetated sediments relative to non-vegetated sediments. This trend was supported by the enumeration of PAH-degrading bacteria in non-vegetated and vegetated sediment using a Most Probable Numbers (MPN) technique, which demonstrated that PAH-degrading bacteria existed in non-vegetated and vegetated sediments at levels ranging from 102 to 105 cells/g sediment respectively. No difference between microbial communities present in vegetated versus non-vegetated sediments was found using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (of the 16S rRNA gene) or phospholipid fatty acid analysis. These studies provide information on the specific members and activity of the PAH-degrading aerobic bacterial communities present in Spartina-dominated salt marshes in the New York/New Jersey Harbor estuary.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this project was provided by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, and the Northeast Hazardous Substance Research Center. Greg Flanagan and Al Habib provided expert technical assistance. We thank Dr. Lee Kerkhof (Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University) for assistance with the TRFLP analyses. We thank Carl Alderson for providing sampling access to the Gulfport Reach Site, and Drs. Michael Levandowsky and Evelyn Drake for sampling assistance at the Gulfport Reach and Refinery Sites. We thank Dr.’s Karen Cangialosi and Dick Jardine for assistance with the statistical analysis.

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  1. L. A. Launen

    Present address: Department of Biology, Keene State College, 229 Main St., Keene, NH, 03431-2897, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901-8525, USA

    L. A. Launen, J. Dutta, R. Turpeinen, M. E. Eastep, R. Dorn, V. H. Buggs, J. W. Leonard & M. M. Häggblom

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  1. L. A. Launen
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  2. J. Dutta
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Correspondence to L. A. Launen.

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Launen, L.A., Dutta, J., Turpeinen, R. et al. Characterization of the indigenous PAH-degrading bacteria of Spartina dominated salt marshes in the New York/New Jersey Harbor. Biodegradation 19, 347–363 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9141-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9141-7

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