Valéria Maia de Oliveira
Biology and Agriculture (CPQBA), Campinas University - UNICAMP,
CP 6171, CEP 13081-970, Campinas, SP
Brazil
Research Article
Diversity of Hydrocarbon-Related Catabolic Genes in Oil Samples from Potiguar Basin (Rn, Brazil)
Author(s): Leandro Costa Lima Verde, Tiago Rodrigues e Silva, Bruna Martins Dellagnezze, Eugênio Vaz dos Santos Neto and Valéria Maia de OliveiraLeandro Costa Lima Verde, Tiago Rodrigues e Silva, Bruna Martins Dellagnezze, Eugênio Vaz dos Santos Neto and Valéria Maia de Oliveira
Biodegradation may result in physicochemical changes in crude oil and natural gas properties, being responsible for the decrease of saturated hydrocarbons and yielding heavy oil with low economic value. Studies on the diversity of microbial catabolic genes in oil reservoirs are scarce and could help to predict the potential of a petroleum sample to be biodegraded. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diversity of genes involved in hydrocarbon degradation in Brazilian petroleum samples (biodegraded and non-biodegraded) through the construction and analysis of gene libraries (alkane monooxygenase – alk, dioxygenase – ARHDs and 6-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonyl-CoA hydrolase - bamA). The results showed a differential distribution of catabolic genes between the sites, being the biodegraded oil more diverse for the alk and bamA genes. Sequences were similar to the alkB genes .. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2157-7463.1000138