Phenanthrene degradation and strategies to improve its bioavailability to microorganisms isolated from brackish sediments

► Four phenanthrene-degrading strains were isolated from Samborombón Bay (Argentina). ► Three of the strains belong to genus Pseudomonas sp. and one to Sphingomonas sp. ► The isolated strains degraded phenanthrene with high efficiency. ► Some strains produced biosurfactants and showed chemotaxis toward phenanthrene.