Combined effect of Bacillus cereus CPOU13 and B. subtilis SPC14 on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degradation in vitro

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with suitable bacterial strains conveys much interest in recent years. We studied biodegradation of PAHs namely phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene using two efficient PAHs degrading strains, B. cereus CPOU13 and B. subtilis SPC14 in vitro experiments. Standard HPLC chromatograms for phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene were plotted separately based on HPLC peak area values and Retension time of known concentrations of the test PAHs and using software, ‘Origin 6.0’. Biodegradation of PAHs mixture containing phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene was studied in for 13 days. We found that the combination of bacterial strains, B. cereus CPOU13 and B. subtilis SPC14 degraded high amounts of phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene in 13 days of incubation. The recorded degradation percentages of phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene were 85.31, 92.82 and 85.70 respectively. Concentration of phenanthrene was degraded from 217µg/5ml to 31.9µg/5ml. Concentration of anthracene was degraded from 211µg/5ml to 16µg/5ml. Concentration of pyrene was degraded from 233µg/5ml to 33µg/5ml in 13 days of incubation. We also observed biodegradation of phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene from 1st day to 13th day.