An Investigation of the Potential of Vibrio fischeri Bacterium for Monitoring of Oil Pollution in Aqueous Media

Growing concerns about water pollution and its potentially harmful effects on human being have stimulated serious efforts to develop reliable biological monitoring techniques. The bioluminescent analysis is one of the most promising approaches for the biomonitoring of the environment, due to the sensitivity of the luminescent system to even micro quantities of the pollutants. The aim of the current study was to assess the petroleum compounds toxicity using Vibrio fischeri bacterium. The growth pattern of the bacterium was determined in photobacterium broth using the optical density measurement at 600 nm, which showed the optimum growth time of 16-18 hours after inoculation. In this research, the effects of environmental parameters such as temperature, pH and various concentrations of oil on the growth and luminescence of Vibrio fischeri were examined. The results revealed that the optimum growth conditions of the bacterium after 16 hours included the temperature of 25 °C and pH 7. Besides, the growth and luminescence intensity of Vibrio fischeri were a function of total petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in the medium, which were significantly reduced in oil concentrations by more than 4% w/v. Therefore, the Vibrio fischeri could, therefore, have the potential for monitoring of petroleum pollutants in the aqueous media.