Kinetics of BTEX biodegradation by a microbial consortium acclimatized to unleaded gasoline and bacterial strains isolated from it

In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of BTEX biodegradation by a consortium acclimatized to unleaded gasoline and bacterial strains isolated from it. The isolates were identified by PCR-amplification of 16S rRNA genes, and BTEX biodegradation was confirmed by the identification of dioxygenase-related proteins. The consortium degraded 95% of total BTEX and the following genera were present in the consortium: Pseudomonas, Shewanella, Burkholderia, Alcanivorax, Rhodococcus, and Bacillus. Strain FMB08, isolated from a consortium, was capable of removing 90% of total BTEX and its 16S rDNA analysis was similar to that of Pseudomonas.