Isolation and characterization of a microbial consortium capable to deplete total petroleum hydrocarbon in dredged sediments

The present work is part of the project Bioresnova, financed by the Fondazione Pisa that aims to offer innovative solutions in the field of decontamination and recovery of dredged sediments. The work was related to the isolation and characterization of microbial candidates capable to degrade hydrocarbons constituting the main source of organic contamination of dredged sediments in urbanized area. Actually a microbial consortium, autochthonous to the dredged sediments of the Navicelli canal in Pisa has been isolated for the capacity to completely deplete gasoline in liquid culture. The microbial candidates composing the consortium were identified as bacterial and fungal strains. The bacterial candidates utilize the gasoline as the sole carbon source. A total of two out of five fungal strains are capable to completely deplete gasoline in liquid culture. The characterization of the microbial candidates composing the consortium of interest has the final goal the designing of a “minimal consortium” in terms of number of candidates to be exploited in bioaugmentation of dredged sediments in dedicated solid phase bioreactor