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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Bioenergy Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307804
Title: Protocol for the measurement of hydrocarbon transport in bacteria

Author
item DITTY, JAYNA - University Of St Thomas
item Nichols, Nancy
item PARALES, REBECCA - University Of California

Submitted to: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2014
Publication Date: 12/29/2016
Citation: Ditty, J.L., Nichols, N.N., Parales, R.E. 2016. Protocal for the measurement of hydrocarbon transport in bacteria. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology. 55-67. doi: 10.1007/8623_2014_11.

Interpretive Summary: Petroleum and other hydrocarbon pollutants are degraded in the environment by naturally-occurring microbes. Hydrocarbons must cross cell membranes in order for metabolism to occur, but mechanisms for hydrocarbon transport in microbes are not well-established due to the hydrophobic nature of hydrocarbons, their volatile nature, and their relatively low aqueous solubility. This paper describes bacterial uptake of aromatic acids and hydrocarbons. This information will be useful to researchers striving to understand uptake and metabolism of hydrocarbons by microbes and will aid development of models for environmental bioremediation.

Technical Abstract: Due to the hydrophobic, volatility, and relatively low aqueous solubility of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, transport of these chemicals by bacteria has not been extensively studied. These issues make transport assays difficult to carry out, and as a result, strong evidence for the active transport of hydrocarbons is lacking. Here we describe a detailed protocol for the measurement of hydrocarbon transport in bacteria, and suggest key equipment and control experiments required to obtain convincing results.