Alcanivorax sp. FOR1501: uma nova cepa isolada do óleo que atingiu a zona costeira do Brasil em 2019 e avaliação do seu potencial para biorremediação

Abstract

Crude oil is a non-renewable resource of great global economic importance. Despite advances in safety, oil exploration is a practice susceptible to environmental disasters. In Brazil, between August 2019 and January 2020, heavy oil, spilled approximately 400700 km from the coast, contaminated more than 3,000 km of the Brazilian coast, reaching the entire Northeast and part of the Southeast, causing extensive damage to biodiversity and human health. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop technologies that promote the bioremediation of contaminated areas. Bacteria that degrade hydrocarbons and produce surface-active compounds are potential candidates for applications in bioremediation, such as the new strain of Alcanivorax sp. FOR1501, which was isolated from oiled beach samples in Ceará. In this context, this work evaluated the biodegradation of petroleum and diesel for the production of biosurfactants by this strain. Biodegradation was evaluated by gravimetric analysis and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, while biosurfactant production was evaluated by measurements of emulsification, demulsification and surface tension. The biosurfactant was characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). FOR1501 was able to degrade long-chain hydrocarbons, with a 100% reduction in the absolute areas of the C34-C37 chains. Diesel or petroleum associated with glucose were excellent substrates for the production of biosurfactants, which produced emulsification rates of 55% and 66% respectively. The products were able to reduce surface tension by 35% and disperse oil from the water surface. The characterization of biosurfactants by FT-IR showed structural similarity with lipopeptides. The results highlight that FOR1501 can be biotechnologically exploited for the degradation of heavy petroleum fractions and the production of biosurfactants.