Abstract
Despite the benefits of petroleum hydrocarbon as essential raw energy sources in many industries, they cause major global environmental pollution. Petroleum hydrocarbons pollutants are highly toxic and recalcitrant, making them dangerous and persistent over long periods in an ecosystem. However, oil contaminated soil is enriched with microorganisms that can utilize petroleum products and hydrocarbons for their growth, nutrition, and metabolic activities. This study aimed to isolate and characterize hydrocarbons-degrading bacteria capable of degrading hydrocarbons in soil samples obtained from oil-polluted garage sites in Kericho County, Kenya. One hundred and ten (110) bacterial isolates were isolated after enrichment, with 67 of the isolates (60.9%) having visible petroleum diesel-degrading capability. The bacteria were characterized based on phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Forty-nine of the isolates were Gram negative rods, and majority (56) of the isolates reacted positively for catalase and negatively for oxidase (38), methyl red (59), and Voges Proskauer (65); 50.9% of the isolates tested positive for citrate utilization. More than half of the isolated bacteria (69.7%) demonstrated strong evidence of diesel degradation. Bacteria with moderate diesel degradation demonstration accounted for 18.2% of the isolates, while isolates with substantial diesel residues contributed 12.1%. Following 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the bacterial strains were identified as belonging to the genera Acinetobacter (8), Pseudarthrobacter (4), Corynebacterium (2), Gordonia (2), Athrobacter (2), Microbacterium (2), Acidivorax (1), Pseudoxanthomonas (1), Priestia (1), Cellulosimicrobium (1), Cupriavidus (1), Paenarthrobacter (1), Exiguobacterium (1), Shewanella (1), Stutzerimonas (1), and Pseudomonas (1). This study has demonstrated that garage soils with petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in Kericho County harbor a rich and diverse indigenous population of microbes with the ability to biodegrade diesel. The findings suggest potential application of these bacterial strains to facilitate the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons.