Growth Optimisation and Kinetic Profiling of Diesel Biodegradation by a Cold-Adapted Microbial Consortium Isolated from Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica

Pollution associated with petrogenic hydrocarbons is increasing in Antarctica due to a combination of human activity and the continent’s unforgiving environmental conditions. The current study focuses on ability cold-adapted crude microbial consortium (BS24), isolated from soil north-west Antarctic Peninsula, metabolise diesel fuel as sole carbon source shake-flask setting. Factors expected influence efficiency biodegradation, namely temperature, initial concentration, nitrogen type salinity pH were studied. Consortium BS24 displayed optimal cell growth degradation at 1.0% NaCl, 7.5, 0.5 g/L NH4Cl 2.0% v/v concentration during one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) analyses. was psychrotolerant based optimum temperature 10‒15 °C. In conventionally optimised media, highest total petroleum (TPH) mineralisation 85% over 7-day incubation. Further optimisation conditions predicted through statistical response-surface methodology (RSM) (1.0% 7.25, 0.75 NH4Cl, 12.5 °C 1.75% concentration) boosted 95% A Tessier secondary model best described pattern diesel-enriched medium, maximum specific rate, μmax, substrate inhibition constant, Ki half saturation Ks, being 0.9996 h−1, 1.356% 1.238% v/v, respectively. data obtained suggest potential consortia such bioremediation applications low-temperature diesel-polluted soils.