Biodegradation of Benzo(a)anthracene Employing Paenibacillus sp. HD1PAH: A Novel Strain Isolated from Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

Biodegradation potential of Panebacillus sp. strain HD1PAH has been studied in flask culture environment, which uses benzo(a)anthracene (i.e., BaA), a high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic compound, as the sole carbon source. The study was carried out in conical flask that contains 100 mL mineral salt media with 10 mg/L concentrations of BaA. Degradation efficacy was studied in terms of bacterial biomass, formation of metabolites, and concentration of the parent compounds in the treated samples harvested at different time intervals (i.e., 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h, 120 h, and 144 h) of incubation. A control setup was also maintained for comparison of the results. The results revealed that Paenibacillus sp. strain HD1PAH can efficiently degrade BaA up to 82.01% during 144 h of incubation period. The results also showed strong negative correlation between degradation of BaA and biomass content of Paenibacillus sp. HD1PAH, as observed during different times of experimental trials.