Hydrocarbonoclastic potentials of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from the crude oil polluted Iko river estuary and freshwater ecosystem of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Hydrocarbonoclastic potentials of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from the crude oil polluted Iko river estuary and freshwater ecosystem of the Niger Delta was investigated. The isolation  of  crude oil   utilizing bacterial isolates  in water sample was carried out by surface spreading technique using diluents prepared with quarter strength Ringers solution and  cultured on oil agar medium (OAM). Of the 32 potential hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria from  crude oil impacted aquatic  ecosystem only eight isolates identified as; Citrobacter amalonaticus–Y1 (FSW); Proteus mirabilis strain–I(FSW), Pseudomonas  fluorescens–N (FSE); Citrobacter farmeri–Y12 (FSE), Citrobacter amalonaticus strain–Y2 (ESWS1), Enterobacter sp.–Y8 (ESWS3), Proteus mirabilis strain–K (ESWS1), Proteus penneri strain–O(ESES3)  were found to demonstrate strong hydrocarbonoclastic potentials  with variable levels of low pH and increase optical density and free carbon iv oxide production. The study revealed that Citrobacter amalonaticus strain–Y2 (ESWS1) of the family Enterobacteriaceae is a good candidate for bioaugmentation technique of bioremediation.