الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollutants in the environment is natural
and continuous biological processes to clean the nature. Nature is enriched by
wide array of bio-decomposers that are potential agents for degrading
petroleum hydrocarbon. Biodegradation processes depend on both microbes
and pollutants. Environmental degradation and frequent oil spill are
compelling reasons for us to explore and search for local hydrocarbon
degrading microorganisms from Egyptian soil in Ismailia by selective
enrichment technique. In this attempt, 15 strains of microbes had been
isolated that are able to use hydrocarbon compounds as a sol carbon source.
These strains were cultivated in liquid media supplemented with
n-alkanes and the combination of other mineral nutrients (e.g. nitrogen,
phosphorus, magnesium, and sulfur) in the inorganic form. Among these, 14
strains are belonging to fungi that are capable of degrading hydrocarbons. All
the fungal isolated strains are belong to five genera fusarium, Aspergillus,
Gliocladium, Acremonium, and Pencellium.Only one strain was found to
belong to the genus Streptomyces. Indeed, this actinomycetes strain showed a
powerful degrading capability compared to the eukaryotic fungal strains.
Biotransformation of hydrocarbons to biomass was observed by dry weight
increase that is conclusive indicator of microbial utilizations and
degradations of oil in biometric flasks. Fungal strains were unable to produce
bio-surfactant, however, Streptomyces isolate was able to produce significant
amount of bio-surfactant. Growths of microbes on hydrocarbon were strongly
correlated with bio-surfactant production. Indeed, bio-surfactant production
is a prerequisite for microorganisms to handle hydrophobic hydrocarbons.
These studies help investigate new local strains for hydrocarbon degradation
that are attractive candidate for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon.