Natural seepage of crude oil into the marine environment

Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Cooper, Cortis

doi:10.1007/s00367-003-0135-0

Cited by 353 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…An equivalent release of hydrocarbons into the ocean is thought to result from human activities such as oil leakage from drilling rigs and shipping vessels (1). Localized events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released ∼0.435 million tons of oil (7), can further increase anthropogenic hydrocarbon inputs into the marine environment.…”

Section: Significant Potential For Hydrocarbon Production By Prochlormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…H ydrocarbons are ubiquitous in the oceans, where natural seepage and human activities are estimated to release between 0.4 and 4.0 million tons of crude oil into the ocean ecosystem annually (1). Even in minimally polluted marine surface waters, alkanes such as pentadecane and heptadecane have been found at concentrations ranging from 2 to 130 pg/mL (2, 3), although their sources remain unclear.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle

Lea‐Smith

Biller

Davey

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

174

122

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Hydrocarbons are ubiquitous in the ocean, where alkanes such as pentadecane and heptadecane can be found even in waters minimally polluted with crude oil. Populations of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, which are responsible for the turnover of these compounds, are also found throughout marine systems, including in unpolluted waters. These observations suggest the existence of an unknown and widespread source of hydrocarbons in the oceans. Here, we report that strains of the two most abundant marine cyanobacteria, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, produce and accumulate hydrocarbons, predominantly C15 and C17 alkanes, between 0.022 and 0.368% of dry cell weight. Based on global population sizes and turnover rates, we estimate that these species have the capacity to produce 2-540 pg alkanes per mL per day, which translates into a global ocean yield of ∼308-771 million tons of hydrocarbons annually. We also demonstrate that both obligate and facultative marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria can consume cyanobacterial alkanes, which likely prevents these hydrocarbons from accumulating in the environment. Our findings implicate cyanobacteria and hydrocarbon degraders as key players in a notable internal hydrocarbon cycle within the upper ocean, where alkanes are continually produced and subsequently consumed within days. Furthermore we show that cyanobacterial alkane production is likely sufficient to sustain populations of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, whose abundances can rapidly expand upon localized release of crude oil from natural seepage and human activities.cyanobacteria | hydrocarbons | hydrocarbon cycle | hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria | oil remediation

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Section: Significant Potential For Hydrocarbon Production By Prochlormentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle

Lea‐Smith

Biller

Davey

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

174

122

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“…This means that we can expect to find hydrocarbon-degrading micro-organisms in a wide variety of marine environments across the globe. The total annual input of non-gaseous hydrocarbons to the marine environment has been estimated to 1 268 000 t, of which 47 % originates from natural seepages and 53 % is caused by human activity related to oil exploitation (Kvenvolden & Cooper, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Abyssivirga alkaniphila gen. nov., sp. nov., an alkane-degrading, anaerobic bacterium from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent system, and emended descriptions of Natranaerovirga pectinivora and Natranaerovirga hydrolytica

Schouw

Eide

Stokke

et al. 2016

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

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Abyssivirga alkaniphila gen. nov., sp. nov., an alkane-degrading, anaerobic bacterium from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent system, and emended descriptions of Natranaerovirga pectinivora and Natranaerovirga hydrolytica A strictly anaerobic, mesophilic, syntrophic, alkane-degrading strain, L81 T , was isolated from a biofilm sampled from a black smoker chimney at the Loki's Castle vent field. Cells were straight, rod-shaped, Gram-positive-staining and motile. Growth was observed at pH 6.2-9.5, 14-42 8C and 0.5-6 % (w/w) NaCl, with optima at pH 7.0-8.2, 37 8C and 3 % (w/w) NaCl. Proteinaceous substrates, sugars, organic acids and hydrocarbons were utilized for growth. Thiosulfate was used as an external electron acceptor during growth on crude oil. Strain L81 T was capable of syntrophic hydrocarbon degradation when co-cultured with a methanogenic archaeon, designated strain LG6, isolated from the same enrichment. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain L81 T is affiliated with the family Lachnospiraceae, and is most closely related to the type strains of Natranaerovirga pectinivora (92 % sequence similarity) and Natranaerovirga hydrolytica (90 %). The major cellular fatty acids of strain L81 T were C 15 : 0 , anteiso-C 15 : 0 and C 16 : 0 , and the profile was distinct from those of the species of the genus Natranaerovirga. The polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified phospholipids, four unidentified glycolipids and two unidentified phosphoglycolipids. The G+C content of genomic DNA was determined to be 31.7 mol%. Based on our phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic results, strain L81 T is considered to represent a novel species of a new genus of the family Lachnospiraceae, for which we propose the name Abyssivirga alkaniphila gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Abyssivirga alkaniphila is L81 T (5DSM 29592 T 5JCM 30920 T ). We also provide emended descriptions of Natranaerovirga pectinivora and Natranaerovirga hydrolytica.

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“…Biodesulfurization has become an alternative way to remedy crude oil and refined products, where the addition of specific microorganism or enhancement of microorganism already present, can improve desulfurizing efficiency (Kvenvolden and Cooper, 2003). In order to develop environmental technologies for crude oil desulfurization, it is necessary to isolate and characterize specific microbial species for evaluation of their efficacy in utilization of sulfur compounds before application to crude oil.…”

Section: Issn: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 4 (2017) Pp 2695-2711mentioning

confidence: 99%

Desulfurization of Crude Oil and Oil Products by Local Isolated Bacterial Strains

din¹

2017

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci

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Natural seepage of crude oil into the marine environment

Cited by 353 publications

References 22 publications

Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle

Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle

Abyssivirga alkaniphila gen. nov., sp. nov., an alkane-degrading, anaerobic bacterium from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent system, and emended descriptions of Natranaerovirga pectinivora and Natranaerovirga hydrolytica

Desulfurization of Crude Oil and Oil Products by Local Isolated Bacterial Strains

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