Preliminary Study of Potential Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacteria Identified by 16S rRNA Sequencing in Haina Port Water Samples, Dominican Republic

Microorganisms live in a wide range of environments, performing diverse roles either in-dependently or in association with other organisms forming consortium. This study is focused on those with the ability to bioremediate environments contaminated with petro-leum hydrocarbons (PHCs). Given their ability to metabolise PHCs, bacteria, fungi and algae represent the most relevant groups. PHCs contamination constitutes a major global environmental issue and they present a serious ecological risk. This research was con-ducted in the coastal waters of Haina Port (Dominican Republic) and the main objective was to characterise the bacterial communities potentially involved in PHCs degradation by sequencing the 16S rRNA. The samples were collected in sterile conditions, and physi-cochemical and molecular analysis were conducted. The results revealed the composition and distribution of bacterial communities in the area. In the phylum level Proteobacteria is the dominant group, accounting for between 70 and 90% of the community. When study-ing class level, the Gammaproteobacteria are the predominant group, and Alphaproteobacteria is the second one in order of relative abundance. Bacillaceae family appears as the most abundant in most points. The microbial diversity has significant potential for the natural bioremediation, which could suggest that it is an ecosystem with a bacterial consortium that has metabolic capabilities for the degradation of PHCs.Keywords: Hydrocarbon degradation; Bioremediation; Marine pollution; rRNA sequenc-ing; Bacterial communities; Microorganism.