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Lookup NU author(s): Bernard Bowler, Dr Martin Jones
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
A distinctive feature of the Deepwater Horizon (DwH) oil spill was the formation of significant quantities of marine oil snow (MOS), for which the mechanism(s) underlying its formation remain unresolved. Here, we show that Alteromonas strain TK-46(2), Pseudoalteromonas strain TK-105 and Cycloclasticus TK-8 – organisms that became strongly enriched in sea surface oil slicks during the spill – contributed to the formation of MOS and/or dispersion of the Macondo oil. In roller-bottle incubations, Alteromonas cells and their produced EPS yielded MOS, whereasPseudoalteromonas and Cycloclasticus did not. Interestingly, the Cycloclasticus strain was able to degrade n-alkanes concomitantly with aromatics within the complex oil mixture, which is atypical for members of this genus. Our findings, for the first time, provide direct evidence on the hydrocarbon-degrading capabilities for these bacteria enriched during the DwH spill, and that bacterial cells of certain species and their produced EPS played a direct role in MOS formation.
Author(s): Gutierrez T, Morris G, Ellis D, Bowler B, Jones M, Salek K, Mulloy B, Teske A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Marine Pollution Bulletin
Year: 2018
Volume: 135
Pages: 205-215
Print publication date: 01/10/2018
Online publication date: 14/07/2018
Acceptance date: 08/07/2018
Date deposited: 17/07/2018
ISSN (print): 0025-326X
ISSN (electronic): 1879-3363
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.07.027
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.07.027
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