Bonny Light Crude Oil Degradative Potential of Species of Citrobacter: Detailed Study

Of the diverse hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria isolated from crude oil polluted IKO River estuarine and
freshwater ecosystems, the bacterial isolate, ESW1 and FSW2 identified as Citrobacter amalonaticus
strain – FSW2 and Citrobacter amalonaticus strain - ESW1.These efficiently degrade Bonny light crude
oil sample recording 82.1 and 69.2% degradation respectively after 28 days of incubation.
Biodegradability of the components of Bonny light crude oil was determined by gas chromatographic
analysis. The chromatographic analysis after 28 days of incubation at 28°C also revealed that during
the degradation of Bonny light crude oil, there was a decrease of the total hydrocarbon content (THC)
from 10,906.9 mg L-1 to 1,947.4 mg L-1 and 3,357.9 mg L-1 respectively by FSW2 and ESW1. These
results suggest that Citrobacter amalonaticus is a good candidate for microbial seeding of Bonny light
crude oil polluted aquatic ecosystem.