Pulsed blooms and persistent oil-degrading bacterial populations in the water column during and after the Deepwater Horizon blowout

Yang, Tingting; Nigro, Lisa M.; Gutiérrez, Tony; D’Ambrosio, Lindsay; Joye, Samantha B.; Highsmith, Raymond C.; Teske, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.01.014

Cited by 99 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…Kessler et al (8) hypothesized that methanotrophs were no longer active in September 2010 even though they were detected in high numbers, because methane concentrations and oxidation rates became very low. In this study, we found methanotrophs to be present and active at all depths for the two water column stations, as previously reported for nonplume samples (14) and in postspill samples (16). Since methanotrophs can only use methane or methanol as their carbon source, their presence and activity at all depths in the water column is indirectly indicative of the presence of either methane or methanol.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…During the spill, a deep-water oil plume was detected at depths of 1,000 to 1,200 m (4,5), but this plume was no longer detectable after a few months (6), in agreement with the very high degradation rates observed in laboratory incubations (5). However, most microbiological research to date has focused on the effects of the oil spill with samples taken during the contamination event or shortly thereafter (5,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), and only one study reported on the bacterial communities at plume depth 1 year after the spill (16). In view of the high degradation rates observed and slow mixing of deep water, it was suggested that oxygen depletion at plume depth might persist for several years (3,(17)(18)(19).…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Shortly after this, other Gammaproteobacteria affiliated with Colwellia and Cycloclasticus appeared, indicative of a succession from alkane to aromatic degrading bacteria (13,15,16,23). In addition, other genera of bacteria (Alteromonas, Halomonas, and Pseudoalteromonas) were observed in the water column (5,15).…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The microbial characterization of the water column shortly after the beginning of the spill identified Oceanospirillales as a dominant group of hydrocarbon-degrading organisms, making up as much as 90% of the of the 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (5,12,13,16,23). Shortly after this, other Gammaproteobacteria affiliated with Colwellia and Cycloclasticus appeared, indicative of a succession from alkane to aromatic degrading bacteria (13,15,16,23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Community Composition, Functions, and Activities in the Gulf of Mexico 1 Year after the Deepwater Horizon Accident

Yergeau

Maynard

Sanschagrin

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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c Several studies have assessed the effects of the released oil on microbes, either during or immediately after the Deepwater Horizon accident. However, little is known about the potential longer-term persistent effects on microbial communities and their functions. In this study, one water column station near the wellhead (3.78 km southwest of the wellhead), one water column reference station outside the affected area (37.77 km southeast of the wellhead), and deep-sea sediments near the wellhead (3.66 km southeast of the wellhead) were sampled 1 year after the capping of the well. In order to analyze microbial community composition, function, and activity, we used metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and mineralization assays. Mineralization of hexadecane was significantly higher at the wellhead station at a depth of ϳ1,200 m than at the reference station. Community composition based on taxonomical or functional data showed that the samples taken at a depth of ϳ1,200 m were significantly more dissimilar between the stations than at other depths (surface, 100 m, 750 m, and >1,500 m). Both Bacteria and Archaea showed reduced activity at depths of ϳ1,200 m when the wellhead station was compared to the reference station, and their activity was significantly higher in surficial sediments than in 10-cm sediments. Surficial sediments also harbored significantly different active genera than did 5-and 10-cm sediments. For the remaining microbial parameters assessed, no significant differences could be observed between the wellhead and reference stations and between surface and 5-to 10-cm-deep sediments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

mentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Community Composition, Functions, and Activities in the Gulf of Mexico 1 Year after the Deepwater Horizon Accident

Yergeau

Maynard

Sanschagrin

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Lineages from the order Oceanospirillales (which constituted between 10 and 84% of the 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from the ciliates) have been found in symbiotic association with a variety of deep-sea chemosynthetic marine invertebrates such as bathymodiolin mussels, marine siboglinid polychaetes of the genus Osedax, and gastropod snails of the genus Alviniconcha (e.g., Goffredi et al, 2005;Zielinski et al, 2009;Beinart et al, 2014), but they have also been found as free living organisms. Oceanospirillales became a dominant component the bacterial community following the Deepwater Horizon spill (Yang et al, 2016). Oceanospirillales are known to be heterotrophic (not chemoautotrophic) and can degrade complex organic compounds (Garrity et al, 2005;Goffredi et al, 2005;Mason et al, 2012).…”

Section: Influence Of Folliculinid Ciliates On Microbial Composition mentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial Tube-Dwelling Ciliates Influence Methane Cycling and Microbial Diversity within Methane Seep Ecosystems

et al. 2017

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In a variety of marine ecosystems, microbial eukaryotes play important ecological roles; however, our knowledge of their importance in deep-sea methane seep ecosystems is limited. Microbial eukaryotes have the potential to influence microbial community composition and diversity by creating habitat heterogeneity, and may contribute to carbon cycling through grazing or symbiotic associations with microorganisms. In this study, we characterized the distribution, substrate variability and ecology of a particular group of microbial eukaryotes, known as folliculinid ciliates, at methane seeps along the eastern Pacific margin. Folliculinid ciliates were recently recognized as an abundant and ecologically important component of hydrothermal vent ecosystems, but their ecology in methane seeps has not been examined. Folliculinid ciliates inhabited methane seeps from Costa Rica to Oregon, suggesting a broad distribution in the eastern Pacific. Using phylogenetic analyses of the 18S rRNA gene, two different species of folliculinid were identified and are formally described here. Folliculinids occupied a range of physical substrates, including authigenic carbonate rocks, shells of dead vesicomyid clams, polychaete tubes and gastropod shells. Molecular analysis of the folliculinid-associated microorganisms (16S rRNA and particular methane monoxygenase) revealed that these ciliates not only influence overall microbial diversity, but also have a specific relationship with bacteria in the "Deep sea-2" methanotroph clade. Natural 13 δ C isotope signatures of the folliculinids (−35 ) and their 13 C-enrichment patterns in shipboard 13 CH 4 stable isotope-probing experiments indicated these ciliates and their associated microbes are involved in cycling methane-derived carbon. Folliculinids were significantly enriched in 13 C after the addition of 13 CH 4 over short-term (3-8 day) incubations. Together, these results suggest that folliculinid ciliates represent a previously overlooked contributor to the ecology and biogeochemical cycling at deep-sea methane seep ecosystems.

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Tracking the Hercules 265 marine gas well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2016

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On 23 July 2013, a marine gas rig (Hercules 265) ignited in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The rig burned out of control for 2 days before being extinguished. We conducted a rapid‐response sampling campaign near Hercules 265 after the fire to ascertain if sediments and fishes were polluted above earlier baseline levels. A surface drifter study confirmed that surface ocean water flowed to the southeast of the Hercules site, while the atmospheric plume generated by the blowout was in eastward direction. Sediment cores were collected to the SE of the rig at a distance of ∼0.2, 8, and 18 km using a multicorer, and demersal fishes were collected from ∼0.2 to 8 km SE of the rig using a longline (508 hooks). Recently deposited sediments document that only high molecular weight (HMW) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations decreased with increasing distance from the rig suggesting higher pyrogenic inputs associated with the blowout. A similar trend was observed in the foraminifera Haynesina germanica, an indicator species of pollution. In red snapper bile, only HMW PAH metabolites increased in 2013 nearly double those from 2012. Both surface sediments and fish bile analyses suggest that, in the aftermath of the blowout, increased concentration of pyrogenically derived hydrocarbons was transported and deposited in the environment. This study further emphasizes the need for an ocean observing system and coordinated rapid‐response efforts from an array of scientific disciplines to effectively assess environmental impacts resulting from accidental releases of oil contaminants.

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Pulsed blooms and persistent oil-degrading bacterial populations in the water column during and after the Deepwater Horizon blowout

Cited by 99 publications

References 50 publications

Microbial Community Composition, Functions, and Activities in the Gulf of Mexico 1 Year after the Deepwater Horizon Accident

Microbial Community Composition, Functions, and Activities in the Gulf of Mexico 1 Year after the Deepwater Horizon Accident

Colonial Tube-Dwelling Ciliates Influence Methane Cycling and Microbial Diversity within Methane Seep Ecosystems

Tracking the Hercules 265 marine gas well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico

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