| Content Provider |
World Health Organization (WHO)-Global Index Medicus |
| Author |
Dittmar, Thorsten Malkin, Sairah Y. Passow, Uta Kleindienst, Sara Ziervogel, Kai Loftis, Kathy Seidel, Michael Grim, Sharon Harrison, Sarah Field, Jennifer Sogin, Mitchell L. Medeiros, Patricia M. Joye, Samantha B. Perkins, Matthew J. |
| Spatial Coverage |
Gulf of Mexico |
| Description |
Author Affiliation: Kleindienst S ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Seidel M ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Ziervogel K ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599); Grim S ( Josephine Bay Paul Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543); Loftis K ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Harrison S ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Malkin SY ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Perkins MJ ( Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331); Field J ( Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331); Sogin ML ( Josephine Bay Paul Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543); Dittmar T ( Research Group for Marine Geochemistry, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany); Passow U ( Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.); Medeiros PM ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); Joye SB ( Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602); |
| Abstract |
During the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the application of 7 million liters of chemical dispersants aimed to stimulate microbial crude oil degradation by increasing the bioavailability of oil compounds. However, the effects of dispersants on oil biodegradation rates are debated. In laboratory experiments, we simulated environmental conditions comparable to the hydrocarbon-rich, 1,100 m deep plume that formed during the Deepwater Horizon discharge. The presence of dispersant significantly altered the microbial community composition through selection for potential dispersant-degrading Colwellia, which also bloomed in situ in Gulf deep waters during the discharge. In contrast, oil addition to deepwater samples in the absence of dispersant stimulated growth of natural hydrocarbon-degrading Marinobacter. In these deepwater microcosm experiments, dispersants did not enhance heterotrophic microbial activity or hydrocarbon oxidation rates. An experiment with surface seawater from an anthropogenically derived oil slick corroborated the deepwater microcosm results as inhibition of hydrocarbon turnover was observed in the presence of dispersants, suggesting that the microcosm findings are broadly applicable across marine habitats. Extrapolating this comprehensive dataset to real world scenarios questions whether dispersants stimulate microbial oil degradation in deep ocean waters and instead highlights that dispersants can exert a negative effect on microbial hydrocarbon degradation rates. |
| ISSN |
00278424 |
| e-ISSN |
10916490 |
| Journal |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Issue Number |
48 |
| Volume Number |
112 |
| Language |
English |
| Publisher |
National Academy of Sciences |
| Publisher Date |
2015-12-01 |
| Publisher Place |
United States |
| Access Restriction |
Open |
| Subject Keyword |
Marinobacter Growth & Development Petroleum Pollution Petroleum Metabolism Seawater Microbiology Water Microbiology Biodegradation, Environmental Gulf Of Mexico Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Multidisciplinary |
| Content Type |
Text |
| Resource Type |
Article |
| Subject |
Multidisciplinary |
