The aim of this study was to determine the taxonomic composition of microbial community in samples from the Pechora Sea bottom sediments and to assess its potential ability to degrade hydrocarbons (HCs) and oil. The criterion for such ability was an increase in the relative abundance of representatives of individual microbial groups in enrichment cultures obtained with various hydrocarbons as the only source of carbon and energy. Using high-throughput sequencing of the V4 fragment of the 16S rRNA gene, the composition of microorganisms in bottom sediment samples and in enrichment cultures obtained in the presence of crude oil, n-nonane, n-octadecane, pristane, cyclohexane, biphenyl, and in control cultures obtained in hydrocarbon-free media was determined. Bacteria of the genera Microbacterium, Janibacter, Nocardioides, Rhodococcus, Demequina, Arthrobacter, Novosphingobium, Erythrobacter, Altererythrobacter, Planococcus, as well as unidentified members of the families Sphingomonadaceae and Flavobacteriaceae, not detected by NGS sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments in the corresponding environmental samples and control enrichment cultures, were detected in enrichment cultures with hydrocarbons.
V.O. Pyrkin (Wed,) studied this question.