Abstract

Mycobacterium sp. C2-3 was isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil around an oil reservoir and identified by analysis of its 16S rRNA gene sequence. Strain C2-3 was able to use fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene as sole sources of carbon and energy, yet unable to degrade naphthalene. The strain was also able to use n-alkanes, such as hexadecane and heptadecane, and phenanthrene and pyrene, in particular, were degraded rapidly. The phylogenetic data suggested that the isolate C2-3 is a thermosensitive, fast-growing strain of Mycobacterium sp.

• Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; pyrene; Mycobacterium sp.