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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2002, p. 2858-2868, Vol. 68, No. 6
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.6.2858-2868.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Impact of Irradiation and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Spiking on Microbial Populations in Marine Sediment for Future Aging and Biodegradability Studies

Rebecca J. Melcher,1 Sabine E. Apitz,2 and Barbara B. Hemmingsen1*

Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182-4614,1 Sediment Management Laboratory, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego D361, San Diego, California 92152-63252

Received 31 May 2001/ Accepted 3 March 2002

Experiments were carried out to develop methods to generate well-characterized, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-spiked, aged but minimally altered sediments for fate, biodegradation, and bioavailability experiments. Changes in indigenous bacterial populations were monitored in mesocosms constructed of relatively clean San Diego Bay sediments, with and without exposure to gamma radiation, and then spiked with five different PAHs and hexadecane. While phenanthrene and chrysene degraders were present in the unspiked sediments and increased during handling, PAH spiking of nonirradiated sediments led to dramatic increases in their numbers. Phenotypic characterization of isolates able to grow on phenanthrene or chrysene placed them in several genera of marine bacteria: Vibrio, Marinobacter or Cycloclasticus, Pseudoalteromonas, Marinomonas, and Halomonas. This is the first time that marine PAH degraders have been identified as the latter two genera, expanding the diversity of marine bacteria with this ability. Even at the highest irradiation dose (10 megarads), heterotrophs and endospore formers reappeared within weeks. However, while bacteria from the unirradiated sediments had the capacity to both grow on and mineralize 14C-labeled phenanthrene and chrysene, irradiation prevented the reappearance of PAH degraders for up to 4 months, allowing spikes to age onto the sediments, which can be used to model biodegradation in marine sediments.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA 92182-4614. Phone: (619) 594-6275. Fax: (619) 594-5676. E-mail: bhemming{at}sciences.sdsu.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2002, p. 2858-2868, Vol. 68, No. 6
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.6.2858-2868.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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