Microbial Hydrocarbon Degradation: Efforts to Understand Biodegradation in Petroleum Reservoirs

The understanding of the phylogenetic diversity, metabolic capabilities, ecological roles, and community dynamics taking place in oil reservoir microbial communities is far from complete. The interest in studying microbial diversity and metabolism in petroleum reservoirs lies mainly but not only on providing a better comprehension of biodegradation of crude oils, since it represents a worldwide problem for petroleum industry. Generally, biodegradation of oil affects physical and chemical properties of the petroleum, resulting in a decrease of its hydrocarbon content and an increase in oil density, sulphur content, acidity and viscosity, leading to a negative economic consequence for oil production and refining operations [1,2]. Another important point for studying biodegradation lies on its important role in the global carbon cycle and the direct impact on bioremediation of polluted ecosystems. Furthermore, many of the enzymes involved in the degradation pathways are considered key catalysts in industrial biotechnology [3].