Chemical Diversity and Antimicrobial Potential of Cultivable Fungi from Deep-Sea Sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

A collection of 29 cultivable fungal strains isolated from deep-sea sediments of the Gulf of Mexico were cultivated under the “one strain, many compounds” approach to explore their chemical diversity and antimicrobial potential. From the 87 extracts tested, over 50% showed antimicrobial activity, and the most active ones were those from cultures grown at 4 °C in darkness for 60 days (resembling deep-sea temperature). PCA analysis of the LC-MS data of all the extracts confirmed that culture temperature is the primary factor in the variation of the 4462 metabolite features, accounting for 21.3% of the variation. The bioactivity-guided and conventional chemical studies of selected fungal strains allowed the identification of several active and specialized metabolites. Finally, metabolomics analysis by GNPS molecular networking and manual dereplication revealed the biosynthetic potential of these species to produce interesting chemistry. This work uncovers the chemical and biological study of marine-derived fungal strains from deep-sea sediments of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Rhythms in Deep-Sea Sediments from Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean: ABSTRACT

AAPG Bulletin ◽

10.1306/819a3eb4-16c5-11d7-8645000102c1865d ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 56 ◽

Author(s):

A. H. Bouma

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Deep Sea Sediments

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Records of plutonium isotopes in marine sediments from the southern Gulf of Mexico

10.21203/rs.3.rs-914393/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jose A. Corcho Alvarado ◽

Misael Diaz-Asenciuo ◽

Stefan Röllin ◽

Juan Carlos Herguera

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Water Column ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Global Fallout ◽

Tropical Region ◽

Deep Sea Sediments ◽

Pu Isotopes ◽

Upper Slope

Abstract Here we report on new data on plutonium (Pu) isotopes to elucidate activity concentrations, inventories, sources and their transport from the ocean surface to the sea floor from a collection of deep-sea sediment cores (depths ranging from 257 to 3739 m) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Sediment cores collected from the continental shelf and upper slope region of the GoM consistently showed 240Pu/239Pu ratios of 0.15 to 0.26 and Pu-inventories ranging from 15 to 35 Bq m− 2. Inventories and ratios are consistent with global fallout Pu for this tropical region. In the continental shelf and upper slope regions, higher particle concentrations close to the margins favor significant scavenging and removal of Pu from the water column; in contrast with the deep-sea cores that show low 240Pu/239Pu ratios (0.07–0.13) and a much lower Pu inventory (< 7 Bq m-2) implying a small fraction of the expected global fallout inventory has reached into the lower slopes and abyssal plain of the GoM. Low values and a progressive decrease of 240Pu/239Pu ratios and Pu inventories with increasing water depth have been previously reported for the GoM. The low Pu ratios indicate that Nevada tests fallout was an important source of Pu to deep-sea sediments, and that this source was likely more efficiently removed from the water column than global fallout Pu. Analysis of Pu isotopes in two sediment traps from the upper slope regions show 240Pu/239Pu ratios comparable to the ones observed in the global fallout. These results indicate that global fallout Pu is currently the main source of Pu in water column particles. Therefore, a significant fraction of global fallout Pu must still be present; either in a dissolved phase, or as biologically recycled material in the water column, or scavenged on the shelf and shelf break. Our results bring to light important questions on the application of Pu isotopes to establish sediment chronologies, since these radionuclides are shown to be tracers of bioturbation rather than accumulation processes in deep-sea sediments of the GoM, similar to previously reported results from excess 210Pb.

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Molecular Legacy of the 1979 Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill in Deep-Sea Sediments of the Southern Gulf of Mexico

Deep Oil Spills ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_19 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 312-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sara A. Lincoln ◽

Jagoš R. Radović ◽

Adolfo Gracia ◽

Aprami Jaggi ◽

Thomas B. P. Oldenburg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Deep Sea Sediments ◽

Southern Gulf Of Mexico

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Enumeration of viruses and prokaryotes in deep-sea sediments and cold seeps of the Gulf of Mexico

Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.006 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 57 (21-23) ◽

pp. 2002-2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Christina A. Kellogg

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Cold Seeps ◽

Deep Sea Sediments

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Paleomagnetic excursion recorded in latest Pleistocene deep-sea sediments, Gulf of Mexico

Earth and Planetary Science Letters ◽

10.1016/0012-821x(73)90127-1 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 267-274 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

H.C. Clark ◽

J.P. Kennett

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Deep Sea Sediments

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Extra-Heavy Crude Oil Degradation by Alternaria sp. Isolated from Deep-Sea Sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11136090 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 6090

Author(s):

Lucia Romero-Hernández ◽

Patricia Velez ◽

Itandehui Betanzo-Gutiérrez ◽

María Dolores Camacho-López ◽

Rafael Vázquez-Duhalt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Source ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Crude Oil ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Sole Carbon Source ◽

The United States ◽

Heavy Crude Oil ◽

Deep Sea Sediments ◽

Alternaria Sp ◽

Heavy Crude

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is an important source of oil for the United States and Mexico. There has been growing interest, particularly after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in characterizing the fungal diversity of the GoM and identifying isolates for use in the bioremediation of petroleum in the event of another spill. Most studies have focused on light crude oil bioremediation processes, while heavy crude oil (HCO) and extra-heavy crude oil (EHCO) have been largely ignored. In this work, we evaluated the ability of fungal isolates obtained from deep-sea sediments of the Mexican economic exclusive zone (EEZ) of the GoM to degrade HCO (16–20° API) and EHCO (7–10° API). Alternaria sp., Penicillium spp., and Stemphylium sp. grew with HCO as the sole carbon source. Remarkably, Alternaria sp. was the only isolate able to grow with EHCO as the sole carbon source, degrading up to 25.6% of the total EHCO and 91.3% of the aromatic fraction, as demonstrated by gas chromatography analysis of the saturate, aromatic, and polar fractions. These findings proved to be significant, identifying Alternaria sp. as one of the few fungi reported so far capable of degrading untreated EHCO and as a suitable candidate for bioremediation of EHCO in future studies.

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