Deep-sea oil plume enriches indigenous oil-degrading bacteria.
The biological effects and expected fate of the vast amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon blowout are unknown owing to the depth and magnitude of this event. Here, we report that the dispersed hydrocarbon plume stimulated deep-sea indigenous γ-Proteobacteria that are closely related to known petroleum degraders. Hydrocarbon-degrading genes coincided with the concentration of various oil contaminants. Changes in hydrocarbon composition with distance from the source and incubation experiments with environmental isolates demonstrated faster-than-expected hydrocarbon biodegradation rates at 5°C. Based on these results, the potential exists for intrinsic bioremediation of the oil plume in the deep-water column without substantial oxygen drawdown.
Hazen
Terry C
TC
MS 70A-3317, One Cyclotron Road, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. tchazen@lbl.gov
Dubinsky
Eric A
EA
DeSantis
Todd Z
TZ
Andersen
Gary L
GL
Piceno
Yvette M
YM
Singh
Navjeet
N
Jansson
Janet K
JK
Probst
Alexander
A
Borglin
Sharon E
SE
Fortney
Julian L
JL
Stringfellow
William T
WT
Bill
Markus
M
Conrad
Mark E
ME
Tom
Lauren M
LM
Chavarria
Krystle L
KL
Alusi
Thana R
TR
Lamendella
Regina
R
Joyner
Dominique C
DC
Spier
Chelsea
C
Baelum
Jacob
J
Auer
Manfred
M
Zemla
Marcin L
ML
Chakraborty
Romy
R
Sonnenthal
Eric L
EL
D'haeseleer
Patrik
P
Holman
Hoi-Ying N
HY
Osman
Shariff
S
Lu
Zhenmei
Z
Van Nostrand
Joy D
JD
Deng
Ye
Y
Zhou
Jizhong
J
Mason
Olivia U
OU
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D020563:Gammaproteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D044130:Oceanospirillaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*
D005227:Fatty Acids; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010578:Petroleum; D010743:Phospholipids