OPTIMAL PARAMETERS FOR In Vitro DEVELOPMENT OF THE HYDROCARBONOCLASTIC MICROORGANISM Proteus sp.

In Mexico, there are extensive areas polluted by oil spills. Currently, bioremediation technologies have been developed, using microorganisms to clean up oil sites. In this study, we evaluated the development of a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial strain, using a completely randomized 3x3x4 factor arrangement: three temperatures, three pH, and four nutrients. We collected samples of soil contaminated with 3.45 x 10(5) mg kg(-1) (345,000 ppm) Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), located at the Ejido Jose N. Rovirosa, Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico. The samples were grown in a culture medium Nutrient Agar (NA), obtaining a bacterial strain, which was characterized and classified as Proteus sp. The strain was grown in a combined carbon culture medium and then in a liquid mineral medium with crude oil as sole carbon source. Analysis of variance and mean test were performed, using the SPSS-11.0 statistical software. The microorganisms showed the highest population growth in the treatment N(2=Triple17)pH(1=4.0)T(1=29 degrees C) with a value of 4.6 x 10(10) CFU mL(-1). To reach, by bioaugmentation, the same development of Proteus sp in a conditioned soil would allow us to implement a potential bioremediation strategy for solving the problem of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons in the state of Tabasco in particular, and in Mexico in general.