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Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Isolation, Propagation, and Identification of Bacterial Species with Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Properties from Aquatic Habitats
Published on: December 7, 2021
A Comprehensive Review of Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation by Bacteria
Firouz Abbasian1, Robin Lockington, Megharaj Mallavarapu
1Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment, University of South Australia (UniSA), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, firouz.abbasian@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Hydrocarbons are relatively recalcitrant compounds and are classified as high-priority pollutants. However, these compounds are slowly degraded by a large variety of microorganisms. Bacteria are able to degrade aliphatic saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons via both aerobic and anaerobic pathways. Branched hydrocarbons and cyclic hydrocarbons are also degraded by bacteria. The aerobic bacteria use different types of oxygenases, including monooxygenase, cytochrome-dependent oxygenase and dioxygenase, to insert one or two atoms of oxygen into their targets. Anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand, employ a variety of simple organic and inorganic molecules, including sulphate, nitrate, carbonate and metals, for hydrocarbon oxidation.
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