Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic
A notable feature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the unprecedented formation of marine oil snow (MOS) that was observed in large quantities floating on the sea surface and that subsequently sedimented to the seafloor. Whilst the physical and chemical processes involved in MOS formation remai...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e14a48d11a9a46cfb37dbbf2c1e289ba 2023-05-15T17:41:18+02:00 Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic Laura Duran Suja Xindi Chen Stephen Summers David M. Paterson Tony Gutierrez 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 https://doaj.org/article/e14a48d11a9a46cfb37dbbf2c1e289ba EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 https://doaj.org/article/e14a48d11a9a46cfb37dbbf2c1e289ba Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 10 (2019) marine oil snow marine dispersant snow Faroe–Shetland Channel hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria EPS Microbiology QR1-502 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 2022-12-31T06:46:53Z A notable feature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the unprecedented formation of marine oil snow (MOS) that was observed in large quantities floating on the sea surface and that subsequently sedimented to the seafloor. Whilst the physical and chemical processes involved in MOS formation remain unclear, some studies have shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play a role in this process. Here, we report that during exposure of subarctic northeast Atlantic seawater to a chemical dispersant, whether in the presence/absence of crude oil, the dispersant stimulates the production of significant quantities of EPS that we posit serves as a key building block in the formation of MOS. This response is likely conferred via de novo synthesis of EPS by natural communities of bacteria. We also describe the formation of marine dispersant snow (MDS) as a product of adding chemical dispersants to seawater. Differential staining confirmed that MDS, like MOS, is composed of glycoprotein, though MDS is more protein rich. Using barcoded-amplicon Illumina MiSeq sequencing, we analyzed, for the first time, the bacterial communities associated with MDS and report that their diversity is not significantly dissimilar to those associated with MOS aggregates. Our findings emphasize the need to conduct further work on the effects of dispersants when applied to oil spills at sea, particularly at different sites, and to determine how the product of this (i.e., MOS and MDS) affects the biodegradation of the oil. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Subarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Microbiology 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine oil snow marine dispersant snow Faroe–Shetland Channel hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria EPS Microbiology QR1-502 |
spellingShingle |
marine oil snow marine dispersant snow Faroe–Shetland Channel hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria EPS Microbiology QR1-502 Laura Duran Suja Xindi Chen Stephen Summers David M. Paterson Tony Gutierrez Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
topic_facet |
marine oil snow marine dispersant snow Faroe–Shetland Channel hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria EPS Microbiology QR1-502 |
description |
A notable feature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the unprecedented formation of marine oil snow (MOS) that was observed in large quantities floating on the sea surface and that subsequently sedimented to the seafloor. Whilst the physical and chemical processes involved in MOS formation remain unclear, some studies have shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play a role in this process. Here, we report that during exposure of subarctic northeast Atlantic seawater to a chemical dispersant, whether in the presence/absence of crude oil, the dispersant stimulates the production of significant quantities of EPS that we posit serves as a key building block in the formation of MOS. This response is likely conferred via de novo synthesis of EPS by natural communities of bacteria. We also describe the formation of marine dispersant snow (MDS) as a product of adding chemical dispersants to seawater. Differential staining confirmed that MDS, like MOS, is composed of glycoprotein, though MDS is more protein rich. Using barcoded-amplicon Illumina MiSeq sequencing, we analyzed, for the first time, the bacterial communities associated with MDS and report that their diversity is not significantly dissimilar to those associated with MOS aggregates. Our findings emphasize the need to conduct further work on the effects of dispersants when applied to oil spills at sea, particularly at different sites, and to determine how the product of this (i.e., MOS and MDS) affects the biodegradation of the oil. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Laura Duran Suja Xindi Chen Stephen Summers David M. Paterson Tony Gutierrez |
author_facet |
Laura Duran Suja Xindi Chen Stephen Summers David M. Paterson Tony Gutierrez |
author_sort |
Laura Duran Suja |
title |
Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
title_short |
Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
title_full |
Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Chemical Dispersant Enhances Microbial Exopolymer (EPS) Production and Formation of Marine Oil/Dispersant Snow in Surface Waters of the Subarctic Northeast Atlantic |
title_sort |
chemical dispersant enhances microbial exopolymer (eps) production and formation of marine oil/dispersant snow in surface waters of the subarctic northeast atlantic |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 https://doaj.org/article/e14a48d11a9a46cfb37dbbf2c1e289ba |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic Subarctic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 10 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 https://doaj.org/article/e14a48d11a9a46cfb37dbbf2c1e289ba |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
10 |
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1766142775481335808 |