Study of plasmid profile and alkane hydroxylase genes in crude-oil degrading bacteria isolated from the Persian Gulf

Abstract

Bioremediation, using microorganisms, especially hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria are inexpensive and eco-friendly methods to reduce oil pollutions. Plasmids containing hydrocarbon-degrading genes encode the enzymes necessary for the derivative pathways are important for bioremediation. The aim of the present work was to study the plasmid profile of bacterial strains isolated from crude-oil contaminated sites in the Persian Gulf in previous researches. In this study, plasmids were extracted from 21 strains using alkaline lysis method. Then, alkane hydroxylase gene groups (I, II, III) were detected in extracted plasmids using specific primers by PCR. The results of this study indicated that eight crude oil degrading strains out of 21 had plasmid. The results of PCR amplification confirmed that 50 % of plasmid containing strains had alkane hydroxylase gene group (I), 75 percent of them had alkane hydroxylase gene group (III) and none of them had alkane hydroxylase gene group (II).