ABSTRACT
Hydrocarbons ....................................................................................... 379 14.6 Microbial Seeding ................................................................................ 386 14.7 Molecular and Genomic Perspectives .................................................. 387 14.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 390 Keywords ....................................................................................................... 391 References ...................................................................................................... 391
Microorganisms have been considered to be responsible for many biochemical transformations, including degradation of recalcitrant compounds in soil. Numerous studies have been carried out to describe microbe-microbe and microbe-hydrocarbon interactions by extrapolating from the detailed laboratory studies with isolates from hydrocarbon-contaminated environments. Microbial biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons has been investigated from as early as the 1950’s and 1960’s. The ability of microorganism to use hydrocarbons as a food source has evolved into their use for the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Pullularia pullulans was tested for its ability to utilize a series of n-alkanes for its growth and the subsequent 10 day experiment indicated adaptation of the organism to utilize hydrocarbons as a sole source of carbon (Skinner et al., 2009).
