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

The marine environment is highly susceptible lt;br / gt;to pollution by petroleum, so it is important lt;br / gt;to understand how microorganisms degrade hydrocarbons. lt;br / gt;In this research the effects of crude lt;br / gt;oil on morphological and physiological characterization lt;br / gt;of the cyanobacterium Phormidium lt;br / gt;sp. ISC104 were investigated. With respect to lt;br / gt;the physiological responses, cyanobacterium lt;br / gt;optimum growth was observed in 1% crude oil. lt;br / gt;The most of chlorophyll content was observed lt;br / gt;in control sample. Phycobiliproteins had the lt;br / gt;highest rate in 1% crude oil. According to biodegradation, lt;br / gt;the results suggested that Phormidium lt;br / gt;sp. ISC104 can reduce oil content by lt;br / gt;24.54 and 43.82% after 14 and 28 days respectively. lt;br / gt;In morphological point of view, dimensions lt;br / gt;of cells were not significantly impressed, lt;br / gt;although a slightly decrease was observed in 5 lt;br / gt;and 7% crude oil in comparison to control. This lt;br / gt;study demonstrated that crude oil doesn’t have lt;br / gt;destructive effect on cyanobacterium Phormidium lt;br / gt;sp. ISC104 up to 1%, indicating the potential lt;br / gt;of this cyanbacteriumin biodegrading this lt;br / gt;pollutant.