Abstract
Twenty-three crude-oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from oil-contaminated sites near the Red Sea. Based on a high growth rate on crude oil and on hydrocarbon degradation ability, four strains were selected from the 23 isolated strains for further study. These four strains were selected on the basis of dichlorophenolindophenol assay. The nucleotide sequences of the 16S rRNA gene showed that these isolated strains belonged to genus Pseudomonas and Nitratireductor. Among the four isolates, strains S5 (Pseudomonas sp., 95%) and 4b (Nitratireductor sp., 70%) were the most effective ones in degrading crude oil. Using a spectrophotometer and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, degradation of more than 90% of the crude oil was observed after two weeks of cultivation in Bushnell-Haas medium. The results showed that these strains have the ability to degrade crude oil and may be used for environmental remediation.