scholarly journals Response and oil degradation activities of a northeast Atlantic bacterial community to biogenic and synthetic surfactants

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Nikolova ◽  
Umer Zeeshan Ijaz ◽  
Clayton Magill ◽  
Sara Kleindienst ◽  
Samantha B. Joye ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundAlthough synthetic dispersants are effective in dispersing crude oil, they can alter the natural microbial response to oil and potentially hinder its biodegradation. Biosurfactants, however, are naturally derived products that play a similar role to synthetic dispersants in oil spill response but are easily biodegradable and less toxic. This study investigated the microbial community dynamics, ecological drivers, functional diversity, and oil biodegradation potential of a northeast Atlantic marine microbial community to crude oil when exposed to rhamnolipid or synthetic dispersant Finasol OSR52.ResultsWe found the microbial community composition and diversity were markedly different in the rhamnolipid-amended treatment compared to that with Finasol, with key aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria like Cycloclasticus being suppressed in the Finasol treatment but not in oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended treatments. Psychrophilic Colwellia and Oleispira dominated the community in both the rhamnolipid and Finasol OSR52 treatments initially but later community structure across treatments diverged significantly: Rhodobacteraceae and Vibrio dominated the Finasol-amended treatment and Colwellia, Oleispira, and later Cycloclasticus and Alcanivorax, dominated the rhamnolipid-amended treatment. Vibrio abundance increased substantially in treatments receiving Finasol, suggesting a potentially important role for these organisms in degrading dispersant components. In fact, Finasol was linked with a negative impact on alpha diversity. Deterministic environmental filtering played a dominant role in regulating the community assembly in all treatments but was strongest in the dispersant-amended treatments. Rhamnolipid-amended and oil-only treatments had the highest functional diversity, however, the overall oil biodegradation was greater in the Finasol treatment, but aromatic biodegradation was highest in the rhamnolipid treatment.ConclusionOverall, the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time, but oil degradation was more enhanced by the synthetic dispersant. Collectively, our results advance the understanding of how rhamnolipid biosurfactants affect the natural marine microbial community, supporting their potential application in oil spills.

Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina N. Nikolova ◽  
Umer Zeeshan Ijaz ◽  
Clayton Magill ◽  
Sara Kleindienst ◽  
Samantha B. Joye ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Biosurfactants are naturally derived products that play a similar role to synthetic dispersants in oil spill response but are easily biodegradable and less toxic. Using a combination of analytical chemistry, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and simulation-based approaches, this study investigated the microbial community dynamics, ecological drivers, functional diversity and robustness, and oil biodegradation potential of a northeast Atlantic marine microbial community to crude oil when exposed to rhamnolipid or synthetic dispersant Finasol OSR52. Results Psychrophilic Colwellia and Oleispira dominated the community in both the rhamnolipid and Finasol OSR52 treatments initially but later community structure across treatments diverged significantly: Rhodobacteraceae and Vibrio dominated the Finasol-amended treatment, whereas Colwellia, Oleispira, and later Cycloclasticus and Alcanivorax, dominated the rhamnolipid-amended treatment. Key aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, like Cycloclasticus, was not observed in the Finasol treatment but it was abundant in the oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended treatments. Overall, Finasol had a significant negative impact on the community diversity, weakened the taxa-functional robustness of the community, and caused a stronger environmental filtering, more so than oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended oil treatments. Rhamnolipid-amended and oil-only treatments had the highest functional diversity, however, the overall oil biodegradation was greater in the Finasol treatment, but aromatic biodegradation was highest in the rhamnolipid treatment. Conclusion Overall, the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time, but oil degradation was more enhanced by the synthetic dispersant. Collectively, our results advance the understanding of how rhamnolipid biosurfactants and synthetic dispersant Finasol affect the natural marine microbial community in the FSC, supporting their potential application in oil spills.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Nikolova ◽  
Umer Zeeshan Ijaz ◽  
Clayton Magill ◽  
Sara Kleindienst ◽  
Samantha B. Joye ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Biosurfactants, however, are naturally derived products that play a similar role to synthetic dispersants in oil spill response but are easily biodegradable and less toxic. Using a combination of analytical chemistry, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and simulation-based approaches, this study investigated the microbial community dynamics, ecological drivers, functional diversity and robustness, and oil biodegradation potential of a northeast Atlantic marine microbial community to crude oil when exposed to rhamnolipid or synthetic dispersant Finasol OSR52. Results: Psychrophilic Colwellia and Oleispira dominated the community in both the rhamnolipid and Finasol OSR52 treatments initially but later community structure across treatments diverged significantly: Rhodobacteraceae and Vibrio dominated the Finasol-amended treatment, whereas Colwellia, Oleispira, and later Cycloclasticus and Alcanivorax, dominated the rhamnolipid-amended treatment. The key aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria like Cycloclasticus was not observed in the Finasol treatment but it was abundant in the oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended treatments. Overall, Finasol had a significant negative impact on the community diversity, weakened the taxa-functional robustness of the community, and caused a stronger environmental filtering, more so than oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended oil treatments. Rhamnolipid-amended and oil-only treatments had the highest functional diversity, however, the overall oil biodegradation was greater in the Finasol treatment, but aromatic biodegradation was highest in the rhamnolipid treatment. Conclusion: Overall, the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time, but oil degradation was more enhanced by the synthetic dispersant. Collectively, our results advance the understanding of how rhamnolipid biosurfactants and synthetic dispersant Finasol affect the natural marine microbial community in the FSC, supporting their potential application in oil spills.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1200
Author(s):  
Gareth E. Thomas ◽  
Jan L. Brant ◽  
Pablo Campo ◽  
Dave R. Clark ◽  
Frederic Coulon ◽  
...  

This study evaluated the effects of three commercial dispersants (Finasol OSR 52, Slickgone NS, Superdispersant 25) and three biosurfactants (rhamnolipid, trehalolipid, sophorolipid) in crude-oil seawater microcosms. We analysed the crucial early bacterial response (1 and 3 days). In contrast, most analyses miss this key period and instead focus on later time points after oil and dispersant addition. By focusing on the early stage, we show that dispersants and biosurfactants, which reduce the interfacial surface tension of oil and water, significantly increase the abundance of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, and the rate of hydrocarbon biodegradation, within 24 h. A succession of obligate hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (OHCB), driven by metabolite niche partitioning, is demonstrated. Importantly, this succession has revealed how the OHCB Oleispira, hitherto considered to be a psychrophile, can dominate in the early stages of oil-spill response (1 and 3 days), outcompeting all other OHCB, at the relatively high temperature of 16 °C. Additionally, we demonstrate how some dispersants or biosurfactants can select for specific bacterial genera, especially the biosurfactant rhamnolipid, which appears to provide an advantageous compatibility with Pseudomonas, a genus in which some species synthesize rhamnolipid in the presence of hydrocarbons.


2021 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 108458
Author(s):  
Konomi Suda ◽  
Masayuki Ikarashi ◽  
Hideyuki Tamaki ◽  
Satoshi Tamazawa ◽  
Susumu Sakata ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 3831-3849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine J. Crawfurd ◽  
Santiago Alvarez-Fernandez ◽  
Kristina D. A. Mojica ◽  
Ulf Riebesell ◽  
Corina P. D. Brussaard

Abstract. Ocean acidification resulting from the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) by the ocean is considered a major threat to marine ecosystems. Here we examined the effects of ocean acidification on microbial community dynamics in the eastern Baltic Sea during the summer of 2012 when inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus were strongly depleted. Large-volume in situ mesocosms were employed to mimic present, future and far future CO2 scenarios. All six groups of phytoplankton enumerated by flow cytometry ( <  20 µm cell diameter) showed distinct trends in net growth and abundance with CO2 enrichment. The picoeukaryotic phytoplankton groups Pico-I and Pico-II displayed enhanced abundances, whilst Pico-III, Synechococcus and the nanoeukaryotic phytoplankton groups were negatively affected by elevated fugacity of CO2 (fCO2). Specifically, the numerically dominant eukaryote, Pico-I, demonstrated increases in gross growth rate with increasing fCO2 sufficient to double its abundance. The dynamics of the prokaryote community closely followed trends in total algal biomass despite differential effects of fCO2 on algal groups. Similarly, viral abundances corresponded to prokaryotic host population dynamics. Viral lysis and grazing were both important in controlling microbial abundances. Overall our results point to a shift, with increasing fCO2, towards a more regenerative system with production dominated by small picoeukaryotic phytoplankton.


2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Nicole S Webster ◽  
David G Bourne ◽  
Linda L Blackall

Microbes constitute the largest diversity and biomass of all marine organisms, yet they are often ignored during discussions about the impacts of environmental change. This is despite the fact that, of all the organisms on the planet, it is the microbes that will play the largest fundamental role in either mitigating or exacerbating the effects of global climate change. Microbes will also be the first and fastest to shift their metabolic capabilities, host range, function and community dynamics as a result of climate change. Therefore, an understanding of microbial community composition and function in individual niche habitats is vital.


1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard P. J. Swannell ◽  
Fabien Daniel

ABSTRACT A study was undertaken on the dispersion, microbial colonisation and biodegradation of chemically-dispersed weathered Forties crude oil under simulated marine conditions in laboratory microcosms. The measurements of droplet size, number and microbial colonisation were made using new techniques developed by the project team. Rapid growth of indigenous micro-organisms capable of degrading both crude oil and dispersants was observed in the presence of chemically-dispersed oil. These organisms colonised the dispersed oil and biodegraded the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. These processes was stimulated by the addition of inorganic nutrients. Some colonised droplets agglomerated into neutrally-buoyant “clusters” (100 µm- 2 mm diameter) consisting of oil, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes. After substantial hydrocarbon biodegradation these clusters sank to the bottom of the microcosms. No biodegradation or cluster formation was noted in “killed” controls in which biological activity had been inhibited. Different dispersants promoted microbial growth to differing extents. These results suggest that the addition of dispersants can increase the rate of oil biodegradation under natural conditions by promoting the growth of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, as well as increasing the surface area of oil available for microbial colonisation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1795) ◽  
pp. 20140882 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Bradley ◽  
Joy S. Singarayer ◽  
Alexandre M. Anesio

Retreating ice fronts (as a result of a warming climate) expose large expanses of deglaciated forefield, which become colonized by microbes and plants. There has been increasing interest in characterizing the biogeochemical development of these ecosystems using a chronosequence approach. Prior to the establishment of plants, microbes use autochthonously produced and allochthonously delivered nutrients for growth. The microbial community composition is largely made up of heterotrophic microbes (both bacteria and fungi), autotrophic microbes and nitrogen-fixing diazotrophs. Microbial activity is thought to be responsible for the initial build-up of labile nutrient pools, facilitating the growth of higher order plant life in developed soils. However, it is unclear to what extent these ecosystems rely on external sources of nutrients such as ancient carbon pools and periodic nitrogen deposition. Furthermore, the seasonal variation of chronosequence dynamics and the effect of winter are largely unexplored. Modelling this ecosystem will provide a quantitative evaluation of the key processes and could guide the focus of future research. Year-round datasets combined with novel metagenomic techniques will help answer some of the pressing questions in this relatively new but rapidly expanding field, which is of growing interest in the context of future large-scale ice retreat.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document