Assessment of the microbial communities and their petroleum hydrocarbon transformation potential in the northern Caspian sea

Abstract

Marine bacterial biodiversity is an immense library of tools which have a potential in bioremediation of oil spills [1]. Oil industry is flourishing in the Caspian Sea which is effecting local environment and we hypothesize that natural seeps and historical anthropogenic leaks have sustained indigenous microbial communities, including hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms (Picture 1). Indigenous microbial communities of Northern part of the Sea and their overall metabolic potential have not been studied comprehensively. We aim to gain knowledge about the bacterial community, determine specific hydrocarbon degrading species and study their potential in bioremediation of oil-polluted Caspian Sea waters.