Comparison of marine bacterial communities associated to oil biodegradation from hydrophobic Fluortex adsorbents during spring and autumn
Hydrophobic Fluortex adsorbents were coated with a thin oil film, placed in field systems and deployed in a marine coastal area in norther Norway. Field systems were deployed in an uncovered (open) and a covered (closed) version to allow/avoid light exposure. Two field experiments were carried out during the study, one during spring and the other one during autumn. Samples for the spring experiment consisted of adsorbents coated with Statfjord and Grane oil, respectively, and uncoated adsorbents as controls. The systems (uncovered and covered for each of the oils and controls) were deployed for a total of 75 days during the spring. Samples were rinsed with seawater from the sampling site and taken before deployment (T0) and 26, 34, 41, 54 and 75 days (T1-T5) after deployment. Samples of the autumn experiment consisted of adsorbents coated with Statfjord, Grane and ULSFO, respectively, and uncoated adsorbents as controls. The systems (uncovered and covered for Statfjord, Grane and the uncoated controls and uncovered for ULSFO) were deployed for a total of 57 days. All samples were rinsed with seawater from the sampling site and after an initial sampling before deployment (T0), samples were taken after 5, 13, 28, 43 and 57 days (T1-T5). DNA was extracted from the oil-coated and uncoated adsorbents, the v3+v4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene amplified by PCR and PCR products sequenced on MiSeq.