Bacterial strain for the degradation of mixtures of mono- and poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons dissolved in oil phases

The invention relates to a new bacterial strain, Novosphingobium puteolanum PP1Y (DSM 19530), isolated from seawater samples collected at the sea surface inside the harbour of Pozzuoli (NA). This tsrain shows the ability to use as the sole carbon and energy source several mono- and poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons both in pure form and dissolved in oils as paraffin oils and silicone oils. Moreover the strain PP1Y is able to use as the sole source of carbon and energy the aromatic fractions of several fuel oils as gasoline, kerosene and disel oil. The strain produces extracellular material, prevalently composed by proteins, with emulsifying and gelatinizing activity which stabilizes the emulsion of the oil phase in water/oil biphasic systems. The metabolic abilities of this strain could be used for the bioremediation of complex mixtures of mono- and poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons even when dissolved in oil phases. Moreover the strain could be used as source of molecules with emulsifying and gelatinizing activity and of enzymatic catalyst for the biosynthesis of compounds with high added value