title: Impact of oil spills on coral reefs can be reduced by bioremediation using probiotic microbiota.
abstract: Several anthropogenic factors, including contamination by oil spills, constitute a threat to coral reef health. Current methodologies to remediate polluted marine environments are based on the use of chemical dispersants; however, these can be toxic to the coral holobiont. In this study, a probiotic bacterial consortium was produced from the coral Mussismilia harttii and was trained to degrade water-soluble oil fractions (WSFs). Additionally, we assessed the effect of WSFs on the health of M. harttii in tanks and evaluated the bacterial consortium as a bioremediation agent. The consortium was responsible for the highly efficient degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons, and it minimised the effects of WSFs on coral health, as indicated by raised photosynthetic efficiencies. Moreover, the impact of WSFs on the coral microbiome was diminished by the introduced bacterial consortium. Following introduction, the bacterial consortium thus had a dual function, i.e promoting oil WSF degradation and improving coral health with its probiotic features.
authors.affiliation: BIOINOVAR/LEMM - Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Henrique
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fragoso Ados Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Invertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Adolpho Santos
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.affiliation: BIOINOVAR/LEMM - Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caio TavoraCoelho da Costa
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Rachid
authors.affiliation: Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Moreira
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Chaloub
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Invertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emiliano Nicolas
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Calderon
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laura Fernandes de Barros
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Marangoni
authors.affiliation: Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adalto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bianchini
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudos Marinhos e Ambientais, PUC, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Haddad
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Nudi
authors.affiliation: BIOINOVAR/LEMM - Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia Lima
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: do Carmo
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Ecology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan Dirk
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: van Elsas
authors.affiliation: BIOINOVAR/LEMM - Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre Soares
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rosado
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Invertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Clovis Barreira E
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: BIOINOVAR/LEMM - Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Instituto Coral Vivo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel Silva
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Peixoto
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001711:Biotransformation; D057894:Coral Reefs; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism; D064307:Microbiota; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D019936:Probiotics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical