Chapter 7
Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons in Marine
Environment
R. Denaro , F. Di Pippo , F. Crisafi , and S. Rossetti
Contents
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
7.1.1 Oil Pollution in Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
7.1.2 Oil Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
7.1.3 Fate of Oil in Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
7.2 Microbial Hydrocarbon Biodegradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.2.1 Bacterial Hydrocarbons Biodegradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.2.2 Bacteria-Degrading Aliphatic Hydrocarbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.3 Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons by Microalgae and Cyanobacteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
7.3.1 Microalgae Oil Degradation . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 204
7.3.2 Cyanobacteria Oil Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
7.4 Synergistic Action Algae-Bacteria in Oil-Polluted Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.4.1 Algae Bacteria Mutual Benefits During Degradation Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.4.2 Algae–Bacteria Synergy Within Phycosphere in Oil Pollution Conditions . . . . . 211
7.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
7.6 Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Abstract Oil pollution in marine environment is a serious issue that impacts human
health, animal wellness, environmental health, and finally the economy of impaired
areas, mainly coastal regions. Sustainable treatments (bioremediation) can attenuate
the toxicity of the affected habitats, because they are inspired by natural processes
carried out by bacteria and algae in synergistic actions targeted at degradation of
hydrocarbons. We reviewed the specific key role of the synergy between bacteria
R. Denaro (*) · F. Di Pippo · S. Rossetti
Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy (IRSA - CNR), Rome, Italy
e-mail: denaro@irsa.cnr.it; dipippo@irsa.cnr.it; rossetti@irsa.cnr.it
F. Crisafi
Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology, National Research Council of
Italy (IRBIM - CNR), Messina, Italy
e-mail: francesca.crisafi@irbim.cnr.it
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Organic Pollutants,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 54,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52395-4_7
195
Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons in Marine
Environment
R. Denaro , F. Di Pippo , F. Crisafi , and S. Rossetti
Contents
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
7.1.1 Oil Pollution in Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
7.1.2 Oil Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
7.1.3 Fate of Oil in Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
7.2 Microbial Hydrocarbon Biodegradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.2.1 Bacterial Hydrocarbons Biodegradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.2.2 Bacteria-Degrading Aliphatic Hydrocarbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.3 Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons by Microalgae and Cyanobacteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
7.3.1 Microalgae Oil Degradation . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 204
7.3.2 Cyanobacteria Oil Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
7.4 Synergistic Action Algae-Bacteria in Oil-Polluted Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.4.1 Algae Bacteria Mutual Benefits During Degradation Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.4.2 Algae–Bacteria Synergy Within Phycosphere in Oil Pollution Conditions . . . . . 211
7.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
7.6 Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Abstract Oil pollution in marine environment is a serious issue that impacts human
health, animal wellness, environmental health, and finally the economy of impaired
areas, mainly coastal regions. Sustainable treatments (bioremediation) can attenuate
the toxicity of the affected habitats, because they are inspired by natural processes
carried out by bacteria and algae in synergistic actions targeted at degradation of
hydrocarbons. We reviewed the specific key role of the synergy between bacteria
R. Denaro (*) · F. Di Pippo · S. Rossetti
Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy (IRSA - CNR), Rome, Italy
e-mail: denaro@irsa.cnr.it; dipippo@irsa.cnr.it; rossetti@irsa.cnr.it
F. Crisafi
Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology, National Research Council of
Italy (IRBIM - CNR), Messina, Italy
e-mail: francesca.crisafi@irbim.cnr.it
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin et al. (eds.), Water Pollution and Remediation: Organic Pollutants,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 54,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52395-4_7
195