Growth, Pigmentation, Photosynthesis and Morphological Characterization of Crude Oil degrading Cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. ISC104

The marine environment is highly susceptibleto pollution by petroleum, so it is importantto understand how microorganisms degrade hydrocarbons.In this research the effects of crudeoil on morphological and physiological characterizationof the cyanobacterium Phormidiumsp. ISC104 were investigated. With respect tothe physiological responses, cyanobacteriumoptimum growth was observed in 1% crude oil.The most of chlorophyll content was observedin control sample. Phycobiliproteins had thehighest rate in 1% crude oil. According to biodegradation,the results suggested that Phormidiumsp. ISC104 can reduce oil content by24.54 and 43.82% after 14 and 28 days respectively.In morphological point of view, dimensionsof cells were not significantly impressed,although a slightly decrease was observed in 5and 7% crude oil in comparison to control. Thisstudy demonstrated that crude oil doesn’t havedestructive effect on cyanobacterium Phormidiumsp. ISC104 up to 1%, indicating the potentialof this cyanbacteriumin biodegrading thispollutant.