Microbial diversity and activity of an aged soil contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

In-depth understanding of indigenous microbial assemblages resulted from aged contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is of vital importance in successful in situ bioremediation treatments. Soil samples of three boreholes were collected at 12 different vertical depths. Overall, the dominating three-ring PAHs (76.2%) were closely related to distribution patterns of soil dehydrogenase activity, microbial cell numbers, and Shannon biodiversity index (Hʹ) of indigenous microorganisms. High-molecular-weight PAHs tend to yield more diverse communities. Results from 16S rRNA analysis indicated that possible functional groups of PAH degradation include three species in Bacillus cereus group, Bacillus sp. SA Ant14, Nocardioides sp., and Ralstonia pickettii. Principal component analysis indicates significant positive correlations between the content of high-molecular-weight PAHs and the distribution of Bacillus weihenstephanensis KBAB4 and Nocardioides sp. The species B. cereus 03BB102, Bacillus thuringiensis, B. weihenstephanensis KBAB4, and Nocardioides sp. were recognized as main PAH degraders and thus recommended to be utilized in further bioremediation applications. The vertical distribution characteristics of PAHs in soil profiles (1–12 m) and the internal relationship between the transport mechanisms of PAHs and the response of soil biological properties help further understand the microbial diversity and activity in an aged site.