Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,

I've been doing research on bioremediation using microorganisms. I wanted to test how efficiently bacteria cleans oil spills by creating a simulation, however, guidelines at my school say that only E.coli can be used. Unfortunately, I've only found pseudomonas fluorescens to have enzyme lipase to break down these hydrocarbons. I tried researching to see if microorganisms such as paramecium/euglena have this enzyme but haven't been able to find any information about it.

I actually found this article on the role of algae in bioremediation of crude oil - from my research, I thought that algae actually inhibits the the breakdown of these hydrocarbons, but then again I'm not too sure. There was no abstract - http://www.springerlink.com/content/pelpfhu5k2txur9t/

Would it be possible if I could be provided access to this article?

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,
I don't think there's any other way to read the article unless you register. Perhaps a librarian might be able to obtain it for you as well. Good luck!

Hi Sareena,

Unfortunately, my institution does not subscribe to this journal, and I know it is very expensive to purchase a copy of a journal article. I was able the find the abstract, but you probably have that as well. You could try contacting a local environmental company, university library or you could try contacting the authors at their institution, the National Research Center in Cairo, to try to get the information you need.

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English Title: Algal bioassay for evaluating the role of algae in bioremediation of crude oil: I-isolated strains.
Personal Authors: Gamila, H. A., Ibrahim, M. B. M.
Author Affiliation: Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, P.C. 12311, Egypt.
Editors: No editors
Document Title: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2004 (Vol. 73) (No. 5) 883-889

Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of two isolated algal strains (Scenedesmus obliquus and Nitzschia linearis), in biodegradation of crude oil. The main result obtained was that the biodegradation rates depend on the type of algal strain used and on the time of exposure to crude oil. On the other hand, a high bioremediation efficiency was achieved by S. obliquus followed by N. linearis. For all n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), S. obliquus revealed a high percentage removal which increased with the exposure time. The percentage removal of n-alkanes by S. obliquus ranged between 46% (after the 1st week) to 88% (after the 6th week), while it ranged from 41 to 87% for PAHs, through the same time of exposure. N. linearis showed less efficiency than S. obliquus in removal of petroleum hydrocarbons. The percentage removal ranged from 35 to 83% for n-alkanes and from 37 to 86% for PAHs during the 6 weeks of treatment. Negative strong correlations were observed between the algal growth of both strains and the total concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons.


Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Good luck!

Donna Hardy

Hi Sareena,

I was able to obtain the pdf of the article through my institution, but the file size is too large to upload through the Science Buddies website!

I'm going to see what I can do to get you access to the article. Stay tuned...

Heather

Hi Sareena,
Bioremediation has been an important topic of my own research for the last 12 years. There are many, many species of microorganisms with the ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, and you can find hundreds of peer-reviewed articles on this topic. If you have not already read the following article, it would be a good place to start:

Title: MICROBIAL-DEGRADATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Author(s): LEAHY JG, COLWELL RR
Source: MICROBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS 54 (3): 305-315 SEP 1990
http://mmbr.asm.org/cgi/reprint/54/3/305
I think that article is a free download, but let us know if you have any trouble

Have you established a procedure for your experiments? I'm curious to hear more.

Chris

Sareena Avadhany wrote:Hi,

I've been doing research on bioremediation using microorganisms. I wanted to test how efficiently bacteria cleans oil spills by creating a simulation, however, guidelines at my school say that only E.coli can be used. Unfortunately, I've only found pseudomonas fluorescens to have enzyme lipase to break down these hydrocarbons. I tried researching to see if microorganisms such as paramecium/euglena have this enzyme but haven't been able to find any information about it.

I actually found this article on the role of algae in bioremediation of crude oil - from my research, I thought that algae actually inhibits the the breakdown of these hydrocarbons, but then again I'm not too sure. There was no abstract - http://www.springerlink.com/content/pelpfhu5k2txur9t/

Would it be possible if I could be provided access to this article?

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Sareena

Hi Sareena,

So there isn't a good way for me to send you the original article you wanted. However, ChrisG has given you a good link to a different article, and you can still look for the other one yourself. The best thing for you to do in this situation is go to the nearest university library. There, you can look through their stacks of journal articles, and make photocopies of the articles you want to read. I have often found that I get much more out of going to the library than surfing the web (even Google Scholar!), because I usually stumble upon other interesting books and articles that help me while I'm there.

Good luck with your search, and please let us know how your experiment is going!

Cheers,
Heather