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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2002, p. 2337-2343, Vol. 68, No. 5
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.5.2337-2343.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Extracellular Polysaccharides of Rhodococcus rhodochrous S-2 Stimulate the Degradation of Aromatic Components in Crude Oil by Indigenous Marine Bacteria

Noriyuki Iwabuchi,1,2 Michio Sunairi,1 Makoto Urai,1 Chiaki Itoh,1 Hiroshi Anzai,3 Mutsuyasu Nakajima,1 and Shigeaki Harayama2*

Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Applied Biological Science, College of Bioresource Sciences,1 Laboratory of Applied Biochemistry, Department of Agriculture, Junior College, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-8510,3 Marine Biotechnology Institute, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001, Japan2

Received 23 July 2001/ Accepted 8 February 2002

Rhodococcus rhodochrous S-2 produces extracellular polysaccharides (S-2 EPS) containing D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, D-glucuronic acid, and lipids, which is important to the tolerance of this strain to an aromatic fraction of (AF) Arabian light crude oil (N. Iwabuchi, N. Sunairi, H. Anzai, M. Nakajima, and S. Harayama, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:5073-5077, 2000). In the present study, we examined the effects of S-2 EPS on the growth of indigenous marine bacteria on AF. Indigenous bacteria did not grow significantly in seawater containing AF even when nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron nutrients were supplemented. The addition of S-2 EPS to seawater containing nutrients and AF resulted in the emulsification of AF, promotion of the growth of indigenous bacteria, and enhancement of the degradation of AF by the bacteria. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses show that addition of S-2 EPS to the seawater containing nutrients and AF changed the composition of the bacterial populations in the seawater and that bacteria closely related to the genus Cycloclasticus became the major population. These results suggest that Cycloclasticus was responsible for the degradation of hydrocarbons in AF. The effects of 15 synthetic surfactants on the degradation of AF by indigenous marine bacteria were also examined, but enhancement of the degradation of AF was not significant. S-2 EPS was hence the most effective of the surfactants tested in promoting the biodegradation of AF and may thus be an attractive agent to use in the bioremediation of oil-contaminated marine environments.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Marine Biotechnology Institute, 3-75-1 Heita, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001, Japan. Phone: 81-193-26-6544. Fax: 81-193-26-6592. E-mail: shigeaki.harayama{at}kamaishi.mbio.co.jp.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2002, p. 2337-2343, Vol. 68, No. 5
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.5.2337-2343.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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