Investigating Bacterial Communities Resistant to Heavy Metal and PAHs Pollutants in the Persian Gulf and Their Ability to Remove These Compounds (a Review)

Abstract

The Persian Gulf is one of the most diverse water environments in the world. There are various types of marine creatures including corals, sponges and fish in this marine environment. These pollutant sources in the Persian Gulf include oil spills from oil tanks, shipping accidents, marine transportation and oil extraction processes. Since nearly 60% of the world’s oil is transported to the Persian Gulf, oil pollution is inevitable. This has made the marine environment the most polluted sea in the world. Bioremediation can be defined as the removal of pollutants such as heavy metals and PAHs from solution by biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, microalgae and yeasts. Various species of bacteria have been isolated and reported by several researchers in the Persian Gulf, perhaps due to its high resistance to a wide range of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Therefore, in this chapter, we decided to review the studies conducted in the field of isolating and identifying native bacteria and evaluating their ability to remove heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Persian Gulf.