Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Isolation, Propagation, and Identification of Bacterial Species with Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Properties from Aquatic Habitats
Published on: December 7, 2021
Chemotaxis in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria isolated from coal-tar- and oil-polluted
J J Ortega-Calvo1, A I Marchenko, A V Vorobyov
1Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología, CSIC, Avenida Reina Mercedes 10, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain.
Abstract:
Abstract The limited mass transfer in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soils during bioremediation treatments often impedes the achievement of regulatory decontamination end-points. Little is known about bioavailability of these hydrophobic pollutants in phytoremediation systems. This work attempts to evaluate, for the first time, chemotaxis as a bioavailability-promoting trait in PAH-degrading bacteria from the rhizosphere. For this aim, 20 motile strains capable of degrading different PAHs were isolated from rhizosphere soils contaminated with coal tar and oil. Three representative Pseudomonas strains were selected, on the basis of their faster growth and/or range of PAHs degraded, for detailed chemotaxis studies with PAHs (naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and pyrene), bacterial lipopolysaccharide and root exudates from seven different plants. The chemotactic response was quantified with a new densitometric method. The results indicate that chemotaxis is a relevant mobilizing factor for PAH-degrading rhizosphere bacteria.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Chemotaxis in E. coli
Bioremediation
Other Unique Bacteria
Microbial Nutrition
Microbial Bioremediation of Pesticides

