Assessment of Isolated Bacteria from Persian Gulf Sediments for Biological Removal of Lead and Anthracene

Heavy metals and petroleum entering the marine environment have adverse effects on aquatic species. The impacts of these compounds on living organisms depend on the type of contaminant and species. In recent decades, biological methods to control and remove heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment have come into focus. Bacterial elimination of pollutants is one of such methods. In this study, the isolation and purification of bacterial species from Persian Gulf sediments led to the identification of Ochrobactrum sp. and Pseudomonas sp. Maximum growth of Ochrobactrum sp. was observed at a concentration of 100 mg/l and the bacterium could also remove 66.5% of the lead metal.  The maximum optical density of Pseudomonas sp. obtained on the ninth day of incubation was 0.852. Eventually, Pseudomonas sp. could degrade 98.48 % of anthracene after 5 days. The decrease of bacterial function in the high concentrations of lead and anthracene can be associated with the destructive impact of these pollutants on the protein synthesis and disruption of enzyme activities in microorganisms.