Abstract Oil spills are a persistent threat to marine ecosystems, particularly in regions with high shipping traffic such as Ghana’s coastline. Conventional crude oil cleanup methods often generate toxic by-products; making bioremediation a preferred alternative. This study assessed bioaugmented crude oil degradation under biostimulated and non-biostimulated field conditions. Alcanivorax xenomutans and Acinetobacter junii isolated from pristine Ghanaian seawater were applied singly and in a 1:1 combination under natural environmental conditions and in duplicates. Extraction of DNA from bacterial cultures was done using a Zymo DNA extraction kit, followed by genomic sequencing using an Oxford Nanopore Sequencer. Microcosm experiments were conducted on nutrient amended and unamended setups for 45 days. In the unamended tests, Acinetobacter junii exhibited degradation efficiencies of 20.68%, 33.33%, and 42.53% on days 15, 30, and 45, respectively. In contrast, Alcanivorax xenomutans achieved degradation efficiencies of 9.54%, 24.14%, and 44.83% on days 15, 30, and 45, respectively. In the amended degradation tests, Acinetobacter junii recorded efficiencies of 33.33%, 47.13%, and 63.22%, while Alcanivorax xenomutans achieved 23.0%, 36.78%, and 49.43% on days 15, 30, and 45, respectively. When both bacteria were applied in combination, the degradation efficiencies were 28.74%, 44.83%, and 48.28% under unamended conditions, and 39.08%, 56.32%, and 67.82% under amended conditions. Bacterial treatments with NPK-amendment produced the highest degradation efficiencies among both the individual and consortium applications. This study proved that a 1:1 mixture of nutrient-amended Alcanivorax xenomutans and Acinetobacter junii showed significant degradation after 30 days, indicating their potential for crude oil spill remediation.
Sarfo et al. (Sun,) studied this question.