Are alkane hydroxylase genes (alkB) relevant to assess petroleum bioremediation processes in chronically polluted coastal sediments?

The diversity of alkB-related alkane hydroxylase sequences and the relationship between alkB gene expression and the hydrocarbon contamination level have been investigated in the chronically polluted Etang-de-Berre sediments. For this purpose, these sediments were maintained in microcosms and submitted to a controlled oil input miming an oil spill. New degenerated PCR primers targeting alkB-related alkane hydroxylase sequences were designed to explore the diversity and the expression of these genes using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting and gene library analyses. Induction of alkB genes was detected immediately after oil addition and their expression detected only during 2 days, although the n-alkane degradation was observed throughout the 14 days of incubation. The alkB gene expression within triplicate microcosms was heterogeneous probably due to the low level of alkB transcripts. Moreover, the alkB gene expression of dominant OTUs has been observed in unoiled microcosms indicating that the expression of this gene cannot be directly related to the oil contamination. Although the dominant alkB genes and transcripts detected were closely related to the alkB of Marinobacter aquaeolei isolated from an oil-producing well, and to alkB genes related to the obligate alkanotroph Alcanivorax borkumensis, no clear relationship between the oil contamination and the expression of the alkB genes could be established. This finding suggests that in such coastal environments, alkB gene expression is not a function relevant enough to monitor bacterial response to oil contamination.