Abstract:
Objective This study was carried out to elucidate the variation of soil physicochemical properties and bacterial community in soils with different petroleum pollution levels in Liaohe oil field.
Method The soil bacterial community and soil physiochemical properties were examined by Illumina MiSeq sequencing and chemical analysis. In addition, some efficient oil-degrading strains were isolated.
Result The results showed that the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) contents in soils collected from oil outlet (A), 50 m (B) and 150 m (C) away from the oil outlet were 2467.44, 884.99 and 141.63 mg kg−1, respectively. The results of soil physiochemical properties showed that petroleum pollution significantly increased soil total organic carbon (TOC) content. And, positive correlation between the TPH content and the TOC content was observed (P < 0.001). The results of MiSeq sequencing showed that the soil bacterial community diversity and richness index were negatively correlated with the TPH content (P < 0.01). Distinct soil bacterial community composition and structure were observed among soil samples with different levels of petroleum pollution. Correlation analysis showed that soil TPH content was the main factor of community dissimilarity. Moreover, the bacterial community composition analysis demonstrated that Proteobacteria (in phylum level) and Pseudomonas, Pseudoxanthomonas, Bordetella and Burkholderia (in genus level) were selectively enriched in oil outlet soil (A). Further, three oil-degrading strains were isolated from oil outlet soil (A). The isolated strains were identified as Pseudomonas baetica, Pseudomonas fulva, and Pseudomonas stutzeri, with oil degradation rates of 37.2%, 46.9% and 57.8%, respectively. These results were consistent with the results of composition analysis in genus level in oil outlet soil (A), suggesting that petroleum pollution could selectively enrich oil-degrading Pseudomonas strains in soil.
Conclusion Petroleum pollution significantly increases soil TOC content, decreases the diversity of soil bacterial community, enriches the hydrocarbon-degrading taxa, and contributes to the soil bacterial community dissimilarity. Moreover, the isolated candidate strains of Pseudomonas can be used for bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil.