Isolation, Characterization and Molecular Identification of Oil Degrading Streptomyces sp.MB9 From Soils

Uses of oil products increased each year which lead to soil and water contamination and many environmental problems. Bioremediation or speed up the degradation processes of these contaminants from soil and water is considered an efficient strategy for treatment. Fifteen actinomycete isolates were obtained from four oilcontaminated soil samples. All isolates were grown in liquid medium containing crude oil as carbon source. Five actinomycete isolates showed the highest growth, thus they were screened for Biosurfactant productions by oil spreading, surface tension, and hemolytic assay. The most active isolate was identified using morphological and molecular identification as Streptomyces sp. MB9. The identified Streptomyces sp. MB9 was used for biodegradation of different concentrations of hydrocarbons for 10 days and growth and percentage of degradation were determined. Maximum degradation (100%) was for fluorene (500 ppm) and Naphthalene (500 ppm) after 5 days of incubation while lower degradation rates were for Phenanthrene, Anthracene, and Pyrene. In conclusion, the selected Streptomyces sp MB9 played an important role in oil degradation.