Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by microbial consortia enriched from three soils using two different culture media

A consortium composed of many different bacterial species is required to efficiently degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in oil-contaminated soil. We obtained six PAH-degrading microbial consortia from three oil-contaminated soils using two different isolation culture media. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequence analyses of amplified 16s rRNA genes confirmed the bacterial community was greatly affected by both the culture medium and the soil from which the consortia were enriched. Three bacterial consortia enriched using malt yeast extract (MYE) medium showed higher degradation rates of PAHs than consortia enriched using Luria broth (LB) medium. Consortia obtained from a soil and then added back to that same soil was more effective in degrading PAHs than adding, to the same soil, consortia isolated from other, unrelated soils. This suggests that inoculum used for bioremediation should be from the same, or very similar nearby soils, as the soil that is actually being bioremediated. •Six PAH-degrading microbial consortia were isolated from three oil-contaminated soils.•The bacterial community by 16s rRNA genes was affected by culture media and source soil.•Inoculum should be from the same or similar soil as the soil being bioremediated. Bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils was most effective when using inoculum of microbial consortia from the same or similar soil as the soil being bioremediated.