Pyrene Degradation by Bacillus pumilus Isolated from Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

Bacillus pumilus (MTCC 1002) isolated from crude oil contaminated soil and identified by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis, was capable of growing in the presence of 50g/ml of pyrene. During growth on pyrene B. pumilus was able to co-metabolize 64% of 50g/ml pyrene in basal medium containing 0.5% glucose in 35 days while in pulse-chase studies, as assessed by HPLC analysis, log phase. B. pumilus cells were able to uptake approximately 11% of 100 g pyrene as pure substrate in 7 hours at 30 degrees C. 9-methoxyphenanthrene and phthalate were identified as metabolic intermediates by GC-MS during degradation of pyrene by B. pumilus. This report implicates B. pumilus as a potential pyrene biodegrader suitable for practical field applications for effective in situ PAH bioremediation.