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Muhammad R, Boothman C, Song H, Lloyd JR, van Dongen BE. Assessing the impacts of oil contamination on microbial communities in a Niger Delta soil. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:171813. [PMID: 38513868 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Oil spills are a global challenge, contaminating the environment with organics and metals known to elicit toxic effects. Ecosystems within Nigeria's Niger Delta have suffered from prolonged severe spills for many decades but the level of impact on the soil microbial community structure and the potential for contaminant bioremediation remains unclear. Here, we assessed the extent/impact of an oil spill in this area 6 months after the accident on both the soil microbial community/diversity and the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase (PAH-RHDGNα) genes, responsible for encoding enzymes involved in the degradation of PAHs, across the impacted area. Analyses confirmed the presence of oil contamination, including metals such as Cr and Ni, across the whole impacted area and at depth. The contamination impacted on the microbial community composition, resulting in a lower diversity in all contaminated soils. Gamma-, Delta-, Alpha- proteobacteria and Acidobacteriia dominated 16S rRNA gene sequences across the contaminated area, while Ktedonobacteria dominated the non-contaminated soils. The PAH-RHDαGN genes were only detected in the contaminated area, highlighting a clear relationship with the oil contamination/hydrocarbon metabolism. Correlation analysis indicated significant positive relationships between the oil contaminants (organics, Cr and Ni), PAH-RHDαGN gene, and the presence of bacteria/archaea such as Anaerolinea, Spirochaetia Bacteroidia Thermoplasmata, Methanomicrobia, and Methanobacteria indicating that the oil contamination not only impacted the microbial community/diversity present, but that the microbes across the impacted area and at depth were potentially playing an important role in degrading the oil contamination present. These findings provide new insights on the level of oil contamination remaining 6 months after an oil spill, its impacts on indigenous soil microbial communities and their potential for in situ bioremediation within a Niger Delta's ecosystem. It highlights the strength of using a cross-disciplinary approach to assess the extent of oil pollution in a single study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rakiya Muhammad
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Christopher Boothman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Hokyung Song
- Division of Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonathan R Lloyd
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Bart E van Dongen
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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Liu Q, He W, Zhang W, Wang L, Tang J. Metagenomic analysis reveals the microbial response to petroleum contamination in oilfield soils. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168972. [PMID: 38043822 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The response of the microbes to total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in three types of oilfield soils was researched using metagenomic analysis. The ranges of TPH concentrations in the grassland, abandoned well, working well soils were 1.16 × 102-3.50 × 102 mg/kg, 1.14 × 103-1.62 × 104 mg/kg, and 5.57 × 103-3.33 × 104 mg/kg, respectively. The highest concentration of n-alkanes and 16 PAHs were found in the working well soil of Shengli (SL) oilfield compared with those in Nanyang (NY) and Yanchang (YC) oilfields. The abandoned well soils showed a greater extent of petroleum biodegradation than the grassland and working well soils. Α-diversity indexes based on metagenomic taxonomy showed higher microbial diversity in grassland soils, whereas petroleum-degrading microbes Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were more abundant in working and abandoned well soils. RDA demonstrated that low moisture content (MOI) in YC oilfield inhibited the accumulation of the petroleum-degrading microbes. Synergistic networks of functional genes and Spearman's correlation analysis showed that heavy petroleum contamination (over 2.10 × 104 mg/kg) negatively correlated with the abundance of the nitrogen fixation genes nifHK, however, in grassland soils, low petroleum content facilitated the accumulation of nitrogen fixation genes. A positive correlation was observed between the abundance of petroleum-degrading genes and denitrification genes (bphAa vs. nirD, todC vs. nirS, and nahB vs. nosZ), whereas a negative correlation was observed between alkB (alkane- degrading genes) and amo (ammonia oxidation), hao (nitrification). The ecotoxicity of petroleum contamination, coupled with petroleum hydrocarbons (PH) degradation competing with nitrifiers for ammonia inhibited ammonia oxidation and nitrification, whereas PH metabolism promoted the denitrification process. Moreover, positive correlations were observed between the abundance of amo gene and MOI, as well as between the abundance of the dissimilatory nitrate reduction gene nirA and clay content. Thus, improving the soil physicochemical properties is a promising approach for decreasing nitrogen loss and alleviating petroleum contamination in oilfield soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinglong Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Wenxiang He
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Agro-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Shaanxi, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Wenzhu Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Lan Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Jingchun Tang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
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Deb Adhikary NR, Klerks PL, Chistoserdov AY. Bacterial community composition in the Northern Gulf of Mexico intertidal sediment bioturbated by the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus louisianensis. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2024; 117:21. [PMID: 38189875 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-023-01897-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Bioturbation plays an important role in structuring microbial communities in coastal sediments. This study investigates the bacterial community composition in sediment associated with the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus louisianensis at two locations in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Bay St. Louis, MS, and Choctawhatchee Bay, FL). Bacteria were analysed for shrimp burrows and for three different depths of bioturbated intertidal sediment, using second-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Burrow walls held a unique bacterial community, which was significantly different from those in the surrounding sediment communities. Communities in burrow walls and surrounding sediment communities also differed between the two geographic locations. The burrow wall communities from both locations were more similar to each other than to sediment communities from same location. Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria were more abundant in burrows and surface sediment than in the subsurface, whereas Deltaproteobacteria were more abundant in burrows and subsurface sediment, suggesting sediment mixing by the bioturbator. However, abundance of individual ASVs was geographic location-specific for all samples. Therefore, it is suggested that the geographic location plays an important role in regional microbial communities distinctiveness. Bioturbation appears to be an important environmental driver in structuring the community around burrows. Sampling was conducted during times of the year and water salinity, tidal regime and temperature were variable, nevertheless the structure microbial communities appeared to remain realatively stable suggesting that these environmental variable played only a minor role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nihar R Deb Adhikary
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 43602, Lafayette, LA, 70504-3602, USA
| | - Paul L Klerks
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 43602, Lafayette, LA, 70504-3602, USA
| | - Andrei Y Chistoserdov
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 43602, Lafayette, LA, 70504-3602, USA.
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Vázquez Rosas Landa M, De Anda V, Rohwer RR, Angelova A, Waldram G, Gutierrez T, Baker BJ. Exploring novel alkane-degradation pathways in uncultured bacteria from the North Atlantic Ocean. mSystems 2023; 8:e0061923. [PMID: 37702502 PMCID: PMC10654063 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00619-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Petroleum pollution in the ocean has increased because of rapid population growth and modernization, requiring urgent remediation. Our understanding of the metabolic response of native microbial communities to oil spills is not well understood. Here, we explored the baseline hydrocarbon-degrading communities of a subarctic Atlantic region to uncover the metabolic potential of the bacteria that inhabit the surface and subsurface water. We conducted enrichments with a 13C-labeled hydrocarbon to capture the fraction of the community actively using the hydrocarbon. We then combined this approach with metagenomics to identify the metabolic potential of this hydrocarbon-degrading community. This revealed previously undescribed uncultured bacteria with unique metabolic mechanisms involved in aerobic hydrocarbon degradation, indicating that temperature may be pivotal in structuring hydrocarbon-degrading baseline communities. Our findings highlight gaps in our understanding of the metabolic complexity of hydrocarbon degradation by native marine microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirna Vázquez Rosas Landa
- Department of Marine Science, Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, Texas, USA
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Unidad Académica de Ecologia y Biodiversidad Acuática, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Valerie De Anda
- Department of Marine Science, Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, Texas, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Robin R. Rohwer
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Angelina Angelova
- School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering (IMPEE), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Georgia Waldram
- School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering (IMPEE), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Tony Gutierrez
- School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering (IMPEE), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Brett J. Baker
- Department of Marine Science, Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, Texas, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Peña-Montenegro TD, Kleindienst S, Allen AE, Eren AM, McCrow JP, Sánchez-Calderón JD, Arnold J, Joye SB. Species-specific responses of marine bacteria to environmental perturbation. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:99. [PMID: 37736763 PMCID: PMC10516948 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00310-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Environmental perturbations shape the structure and function of microbial communities. Oil spills are a major perturbation and resolving spills often requires active measures like dispersant application that can exacerbate the initial disturbance. Species-specific responses of microorganisms to oil and dispersant exposure during such perturbations remain largely unknown. We merged metatranscriptomic libraries with pangenomes to generate Core-Accessory Metatranscriptomes (CA-Metatranscriptomes) for two microbial hydrocarbon degraders that played important roles in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Colwellia CA-Metatranscriptome illustrated pronounced dispersant-driven acceleration of core (~41%) and accessory gene (~59%) transcription, suggesting an opportunistic strategy. Marinobacter responded to oil exposure by expressing mainly accessory genes (~93%), suggesting an effective hydrocarbon-degrading lifestyle. The CA-Metatranscriptome approach offers a robust way to identify the underlying mechanisms of key microbial functions and highlights differences of specialist-vs-opportunistic responses to environmental disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tito D Peña-Montenegro
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 325 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA, 30602-3636, USA
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, 120 Green St., Athens, GA, 30602-7229, USA
- Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovación (BioGRID), Sociedad de Doctores e Investigadores de Colombia (SoPhIC), Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Sara Kleindienst
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 325 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA, 30602-3636, USA
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management (ISWA), University of Stuttgart, Bandtäle 2, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Andrew E Allen
- Microbial and Environmental Genomics, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - A Murat Eren
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany
- Josephine Bay Paul Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - John P McCrow
- Microbial and Environmental Genomics, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Juan D Sánchez-Calderón
- Grupo de Investigación en Gestión Ecológica y Agroindustrial (GEA), Programa de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Libre, Seccional Barranquilla, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Jonathan Arnold
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, 120 Green St., Athens, GA, 30602-7229, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, 120 Green St., Athens, GA, 30602-7223, USA
| | - Samantha B Joye
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 325 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA, 30602-3636, USA.
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Zhou Y, Wang Y, Yang L, Kong Q, Zhang H. Microbial degradation mechanisms of surface petroleum contaminated seawater in a typical oil trading port. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 324:121420. [PMID: 36906058 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Petroleum hydrocarbons are significant new persistent organic pollutants for marine oil spill risk areas. Oil trading ports, in turn, have become major bearers of the risk of offshore oil pollution. However, studies on the molecular mechanisms of microbial degradation of petroleum pollutants by natural seawater are limited. Here, an in situ microcosm study was conducted. Combined with metagenomics, differences in metabolic pathways and in the gene abundances of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are revealed under different conditions. About 88% degradation of TPH was shown after 3 weeks of treatment. The positive responders to TPH were concentrated in the genera Cycloclasticus, Marivita and Sulfitobacter of the orders Rhodobacterales and Thiotrichales. The genera Marivita, Roseobacter, Lentibacter and Glaciecola were key degradation species when mixing dispersants with oil, and all of the above are from the Proteobacteria phylum. The analysis showed that the biodegradability of aromatic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and dioxin were enhanced after the oil spill, and genes with higher abundances of bphAa, bsdC, nahB, doxE and mhpD were found, but the photosynthesis-related mechanism was inhibited. The dispersant treatment effectively stimulated the microbial degradation of TPH and then accelerated the succession of microbial communities. Meanwhile, functions such as bacterial chemotaxis and carbon metabolism (cheA, fadeJ and fadE) were better developed, but the degradation of persistent organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was weakened. Our study provides insights into the metabolic pathways and specific functional genes for oil degradation by marine microorganisms and will help improve the application and practice of bioremediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumiao Zhou
- College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250000, China
| | - Ying Wang
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China
| | - Likun Yang
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China
| | - Qiang Kong
- College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250000, China
| | - Huanxin Zhang
- College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250000, China.
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Nagarajan V, Tsai HC, Chen JS, Koner S, Kumar RS, Chao HC, Hsu BM. Systematic assessment of mineral distribution and diversity of microbial communities and its interactions in the Taiwan subduction zone of mud volcanoes. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 216:114536. [PMID: 36228688 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Mud volcanoes are the most dynamic and unstable sedimentary structures in the areas of tectonic compression like the subduction zones. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the distribution of minerals as well as diversity, abundance and metabolic potential of the microbial communities of major mud volcanic groups across Taiwan namely Chu-kou Fault (CKF), Gu-ting-keng Anticline (GTKA), Chi-shan Fault (CSF), and Longitudinal Valley Fault (LVF). The mud volcano fluids recorded relatively higher Na and Cl contents than the other elements, particularly in the CKF and GTKA groups. The highest microbial diversity and richness were observed in the CSF group, followed by the GTKA group, whereas the lowest microbial diversity was observed in the CKF and LVF groups. Proteobacteria were common in all the sampling sites, except WST-7 and WST-H (Wu-Shan-Ting) of the CSF group, which were abundant in Chloroflexi. The halophilic genus Alterococcus was abundant in the Na-and Cl-rich CL-A sites of the CKF group. Sulfurovum was dominant in the CLHS (Chung-Lun hot spring) site of the CKF group and was positively correlated with sulfur/thiosulfate respiration, which might have resulted in a higher expression of these pathways in the respective group. Aerobic methane-oxidizing microbial communities, such as Methylobacter, Methylomicrobium, Methylomonas, and Methylosoma, constituted a dominant part of the LVF and CSF groups, except for the YNH-A and YNH-B (Yang-Nyu-Hu) sites. The WST-7 and JS sites were abundant in both methane-producing and methane-oxidizing microbial communities. The LGH-F1 (Lei-Gong-Huo) site was dominated by both methanotrophic and methylotrophic genera, such as Methylomicrobium and Methylophaga, respectively. Methylotrophy, methanotrophs, and hydrocarbon-degrading pathways were more abundant in the LVF and CSF groups but not in the remaining groups. The results of this study extend our knowledge of the diversity, abundance, and metabolic functions of prokaryotes in major terrestrial mud volcanoes in Taiwan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viji Nagarajan
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Chi Tsai
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Jung-Sheng Chen
- Department of Medical Research, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Suprokash Koner
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan
| | - Rajendran Senthil Kumar
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Chun Chao
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan
| | - Bing-Mu Hsu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan; Centre for Innovative on Aging Society, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
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9
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Potts L, Douglas A, Perez Calderon LJ, Anderson JA, Witte U, Prosser JI, Gubry-Rangin C. Chronic Environmental Perturbation Influences Microbial Community Assembly Patterns. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:2300-2311. [PMID: 35103467 PMCID: PMC9007448 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Acute environmental perturbations are reported to induce deterministic microbial community assembly, while it is hypothesized that chronic perturbations promote development of alternative stable states. Such acute or chronic perturbations strongly impact on the pre-adaptation capacity to the perturbation. To determine the importance of the level of microbial pre-adaptation and the community assembly processes following acute or chronic perturbations in the context of hydrocarbon contamination, a model system of pristine and polluted (hydrocarbon-contaminated) sediments was incubated in the absence or presence (discrete or repeated) of hydrocarbon amendment. The community structure of the pristine sediments changed significantly following acute perturbation, with selection of different phylotypes not initially detectable. Conversely, historically polluted sediments maintained the initial community structure, and the historical legacy effect of chronic pollution likely facilitated community stability. An alternative stable state was also reached in the pristine sediments following chronic perturbation, further demonstrating the existence of a legacy effect. Finally, ecosystem functional resilience was demonstrated through occurrence of hydrocarbon degradation by different communities in the tested sites, but the legacy effect of perturbation also strongly influenced the biotic response. This study therefore demonstrates the importance of perturbation chronicity on microbial community assembly processes and reveals ecosystem functional resilience following environmental perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lloyd
D. Potts
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
- Materials
and Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - Alex Douglas
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - Luis J. Perez Calderon
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
- Materials
and Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - James A. Anderson
- Materials
and Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - Ursula Witte
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - James I. Prosser
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
| | - Cécile Gubry-Rangin
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, U.K.
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Tomco PL, Duddleston KN, Driskill A, Hatton JJ, Grond K, Wrenn T, Tarr MA, Podgorski DC, Zito P. Dissolved organic matter production from herder application and in-situ burning of crude oil at high latitudes: Bioavailable molecular composition patterns and microbial community diversity effects. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127598. [PMID: 34798546 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Chemical herders and in-situ burning (ISB) are designed to mitigate the effects that oil spills may have on the high latitude marine environment. Little information exists on the water solubilization of petroleum residues stemming from chemically herded ISB and whether these bioavailable compounds have measurable impacts on marine biota. In this experiment, we investigated the effects of Siltech OP40 and crude oil ISB on a) petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter (DOMHC) composition and b) seawater microbial community diversity over 28 days at 4 °C in aquarium-scale mesocosms. Ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed increases in aromaticity over time, with ISB and ISB+OP40 samples having higher % aromatic classes in the initial incubation periods. ISB+OP40 contained a nearly 12-fold increase in the number of DOMHC formulae relative to those before ISB. 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified differences in microbial alpha diversity between seawater, ISB, OP40, and ISB+OP40. Microbial betadiversity shifts were observed that correlated strongly with aromatic/condensed relative abundance and incubation time. Proteobacteria, specifically from the genera Marinomonas and Perlucidibaca experienced -22 and +24 log2-fold changes in ISB+OP40 vs. seawater, respectively. These findings provide an important opportunity to advance our understanding of chemical herders and ISB in the high latitude marine environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick L Tomco
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.
| | - Khrystyne N Duddleston
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Adrienne Driskill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Jasmine J Hatton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Kirsten Grond
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Toshia Wrenn
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Matthew A Tarr
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - David C Podgorski
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA; Chemical Analysis & Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA; Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences, Shea Penland Coastal Education and Research Facility, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Phoebe Zito
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA; Chemical Analysis & Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
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Remote Sensing Detection of Algal Blooms in a Lake Impacted by Petroleum Hydrocarbons. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14010121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to combine all available information on the state of Lake Pertusillo (Basilicata, Italy), both in the field and published, which included Sentinel-2A satellite data, to understand algal blooms in a lacustrine environment impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons. Sentinel-2A data was retrospectively used to monitor the state of the lake, which is located near the largest land-based oil extraction plant in Europe, with particular attention to chlorophyll a during algal blooms and petroleum hydrocarbons. In winter 2017, a massive dinoflagellate bloom (10.4 × 106 cell/L) of Peridinium umbonatum and a simultaneous presence of hydrocarbons were observed at the lake surface. Furthermore, a recent study using metagenomic analyses carried out three months later identified a hydrocarbonoclastic microbial community specialized in the degradation aromatic and nitroaromatic hydrocarbons. In this study, Sentinel-2A imagery was able to detect the presence of chlorophyll a in the waters, while successfully distinguishing the signal from that of hydrocarbons. Remotely sensed results confirmed surface reference measurements of lacustrine phytoplankton, chlorophyll a, and the presence of hydrocarbons during algal blooms, thereby explaining the presence of the hydrocarbonoclastic microbial community found in the lake three months after the oil spill event. The combination of emerging methodologies such as satellite systems and metagenomics represent an important support methodology for describing complex contaminations in diverse ecosystems.
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Karthikeyan S, Hatt JK, Kim M, Spain JC, Huettel M, Kostka JE, Konstantinidis KT. A novel, divergent alkane monooxygenase (alkB) clade involved in crude oil biodegradation. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2021; 13:830-840. [PMID: 34672103 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.13018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Alkanes are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems and originate from diverse sources ranging from natural oil seeps to anthropogenic inputs and biogenic production by cyanobacteria. Enzymes that degrade cyanobacterial alkanes (typically C15-C17 compounds) such as the alkane monooxygenase (AlkB) are widespread, but it remains unclear whether or not AlkB variants exist that specialize in degradation of crude oil from natural or accidental spills, a much more complex mixture of long-chain hydrocarbons. In the present study, large-scale analysis of available metagenomic and genomic data from the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) oil spill revealed a novel, divergent AlkB clade recovered from genomes with no cultured representatives that was dramatically increased in abundance in crude-oil impacted ecosystems. In contrast, the AlkB clades associated with biotransformation of cyanobacterial alkanes belonged to 'canonical' or hydrocarbonoclastic clades, and based on metatranscriptomics data and compared to the novel clade, were much more weakly expressed during crude oil biodegradation in laboratory mesocosms. The absence of this divergent AlkB clade in metagenomes of uncontaminated samples from the global ocean survey but not from the GoM as well as its frequent horizontal gene transfer indicated a priming effect of the Gulf for crude oil biodegradation likely driven by natural oil seeps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smruthi Karthikeyan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Janet K Hatt
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Minjae Kim
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jim C Spain
- Center for Environmental Diagnostics & Bioremediation, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL, USA
| | - Markus Huettel
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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13
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Santiago LD, DeLeon-Rodriguez N, LaSanta-Pagán K, Hatt JK, Kurt Z, Massol-Deyá A, Konstantinidis KT. Microbial diversity in a military impacted lagoon (Vieques, Puerto Rico) and description of "Candidatus Biekeibacterium resiliens" gen. nov., sp. nov. comprising a new bacterial family. Syst Appl Microbiol 2021; 45:126288. [PMID: 34933230 DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2021.126288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The Anones Lagoon, located in the Island Municipality of Vieques, Puerto Rico (PR), received extensive bombing by the US Navy during military exercises for decades until 2003 when military activities ceased. Here, we employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to investigate how microbial communities responded to pollution by heavy metals and explosives at this lagoon. Sediment samples (0-5 cm) from Anones were collected in 2005 and 2014 and compared to samples from two reference lagoons, i.e., Guaniquilla, Cabo Rojo (a natural reserve) and Condado, San Juan (PR's capital city). Consistent with low anthropogenic inputs, Guaniquilla exhibited the highest degree of diversity with a lower frequency of genes related to xenobiotics metabolism between the three lagoons. Notably, a clear shift was observed in Anones, with Euryarchaeota becoming enriched (9% of total) and a concomitant increase in community diversity, by about one order of magnitude, after almost 10 years without bombing activities. In contrast, genes associated with explosives biodegradation and heavy metal transformation significantly decreased in abundance in Anones 2014 (by 91.5%). Five unique metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were recovered from the Anones 2005 sample that encoded genetic determinants implicated in biodegradation of contaminants, and we propose to name one of them as "Candidatus Biekeibacterium resiliens" gen. nov., sp. nov. within the Gammaproteobacteria class. Collectively, these results provide new insights into the natural attenuation of explosive contaminants by the benthic microbial communities of the Anones lagoon and provide a reference point for assessing other similarly impacted sites and associated bioremediation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizbeth-Dávila Santiago
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States; School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Janet K Hatt
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Zohre Kurt
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Arturo Massol-Deyá
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; Casa Pueblo, Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States; School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
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14
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Heritier-Robbins P, Karthikeyan S, Hatt JK, Kim M, Huettel M, Kostka JE, Konstantinidis KT, Rodriguez-R LM. Beach sand oil spills select for generalist microbial populations. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:3418-3422. [PMID: 34088976 PMCID: PMC8528907 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01017-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The specialization-disturbance hypothesis predicts that, in the event of a disturbance, generalists are favored, while specialists are selected against. This hypothesis has not been rigorously tested in microbial systems and it remains unclear to what extent it could explain microbial community succession patterns following perturbations. Previous field observations of Pensacola Beach sands that were impacted by the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill provided evidence in support of the specialization-disturbance hypothesis. However, ecological drift as well as uncounted environmental fluctuations (e.g., storms) could not be ruled out as confounding factors driving these field results. In this study, the specialization-disturbance hypothesis was tested on beach sands, disturbed by DWH crude oil, ex situ in closed laboratory advective-flow chambers that mimic in situ conditions in saturated beach sediments. The chambers were inoculated with weathered DWH oil and unamended chambers served as controls. The time series of shotgun metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data from a two-month long incubation showed that functional diversity significantly increased while taxonomic diversity significantly declined, indicating a decrease in specialist taxa. Thus, results from this laboratory study corroborate field observations, providing verification that the specialization-disturbance hypothesis can explain microbial succession patterns in crude oil impacted beach sands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Heritier-Robbins
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Smruthi Karthikeyan
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Janet K Hatt
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Minjae Kim
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Markus Huettel
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Luis M Rodriguez-R
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
- Digital Science Center (DiSC), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
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15
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Chen YJ, Leung PM, Wood JL, Bay SK, Hugenholtz P, Kessler AJ, Shelley G, Waite DW, Franks AE, Cook PLM, Greening C. Metabolic flexibility allows bacterial habitat generalists to become dominant in a frequently disturbed ecosystem. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:2986-3004. [PMID: 33941890 PMCID: PMC8443593 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-00988-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Ecological theory suggests that habitat disturbance differentially influences distributions of habitat generalist and specialist species. While well-established for macroorganisms, this theory has rarely been explored for microorganisms. Here we tested these principles in permeable (sandy) sediments, ecosystems with much spatiotemporal variation in resource availability and physicochemical conditions. Microbial community composition and function were profiled in intertidal and subtidal sediments using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metagenomics, yielding 135 metagenome-assembled genomes. Community composition and metabolic traits modestly varied with sediment depth and sampling date. Several taxa were highly abundant and prevalent in all samples, including within the orders Woeseiales and Flavobacteriales, and classified as habitat generalists; genome reconstructions indicate these taxa are highly metabolically flexible facultative anaerobes and adapt to resource variability by using different electron donors and acceptors. In contrast, obligately anaerobic taxa such as sulfate reducers and candidate lineage MBNT15 were less abundant overall and only thrived in more stable deeper sediments. We substantiated these findings by measuring three metabolic processes in these sediments; whereas the habitat generalist-associated processes of sulfide oxidation and fermentation occurred rapidly at all depths, the specialist-associated process of sulfate reduction was restricted to deeper sediments. A manipulative experiment also confirmed habitat generalists outcompete specialist taxa during simulated habitat disturbance. Together, these findings show metabolically flexible habitat generalists become dominant in highly dynamic environments, whereas metabolically constrained specialists are restricted to narrower niches. Thus, an ecological theory describing distribution patterns for macroorganisms likely extends to microorganisms. Such findings have broad ecological and biogeochemical ramifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Jou Chen
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Department of Natural Resources Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Pok Man Leung
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Jennifer L Wood
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Sean K Bay
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Adam J Kessler
- Water Studies Centre, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Guy Shelley
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - David W Waite
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ashley E Franks
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Perran L M Cook
- Water Studies Centre, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
| | - Chris Greening
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
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16
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Hydrodynamic disturbance controls microbial community assembly and biogeochemical processes in coastal sediments. ISME JOURNAL 2021; 16:750-763. [PMID: 34584214 PMCID: PMC8857189 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01111-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The microbial community composition and biogeochemical dynamics of coastal permeable (sand) sediments differs from cohesive (mud) sediments. Tide- and wave-driven hydrodynamic disturbance causes spatiotemporal variations in oxygen levels, which select for microbial generalists and disrupt redox cascades. In this work, we profiled microbial communities and biogeochemical dynamics in sediment profiles from three sites varying in their exposure to hydrodynamic disturbance. Strong variations in sediment geochemistry, biogeochemical activities, and microbial abundance, composition, and capabilities were observed between the sites. Most of these variations, except for microbial abundance and diversity, significantly correlated with the relative disturbance level of each sample. In line with previous findings, metabolically flexible habitat generalists (e.g., Flavobacteriaceae, Woeseaiceae, Rhodobacteraceae) dominated in all samples. However, we present evidence that aerobic specialists such as ammonia-oxidizing archaea (Nitrosopumilaceae) were more abundant and active in more disturbed samples, whereas bacteria capable of sulfate reduction (e.g., uncultured Desulfobacterales), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA; e.g., Ignavibacteriaceae), and sulfide-dependent chemolithoautotrophy (e.g., Sulfurovaceae) were enriched and active in less disturbed samples. These findings are supported by insights from nine deeply sequenced metagenomes and 169 derived metagenome-assembled genomes. Altogether, these findings suggest that hydrodynamic disturbance is a critical factor controlling microbial community assembly and biogeochemical processes in coastal sediments. Moreover, they strengthen our understanding of the relationships between microbial composition and biogeochemical processes in these unique environments.
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17
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Karthick A, Chattopadhyay P. Optimum conditions of zero-valent iron nanoparticle stabilized foam application for diesel-contaminated soil remediation involving three major soil types. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2021; 193:611. [PMID: 34462822 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09369-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Stability of foam, enhanced by nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and its optimized constituents, may have significant potential for effective treatment of soil contaminated with diesel oil-a major environmental problem. The optimum diesel removal efficiency from distinct types of soil accomplished by the unique application of such foams as well as the optimum conditions of the foaming constituents have not been reported in literature so far. Hence, in this work, the removal of diesel contaminant from different soil types (desert, coastal, clay soil) is optimized, and the optimized results are reported for the first time, using response surface methodology (RSM), for alkylpolyglucoside phosphate (APG-Ph) foam, stabilized by nZVI. The effect of concentrations of APG-Ph (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.1 volume %) and nZVI (2, 3, and 3.5 mg/l) on diesel removal efficacy from soil is studied using Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Maximum diesel removal efficiency obtained at a concentration of 0.1 volume % APG-Ph foam with 3.5 mg/l nZVI for desert, coastal, and clay soil is 94.6, 95.3, and 57.5%, respectively. The optimum concentrations of APG-Ph and nZVI are found to be 0.98 volume % and 0.8 mg/l, respectively. Validation of this optimal condition experimentally results in highest removal efficiency of 98.3, 97.2, and 75.9% for desert, coastal, and clay soil respectively. This is in good agreement with the predicted values by RSM (98.67, 97.57, and 76.85%). The maximum diesel removal efficiency predicted at optimal concentration of APG-Ph and nZVI is significantly larger than the results reported in literature in last three years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun Karthick
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani Campus, Vidyavihar, 333031, Rajasthan, India
| | - Pradipta Chattopadhyay
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani Campus, Vidyavihar, 333031, Rajasthan, India.
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18
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D’Ugo E, Bruno M, Mukherjee A, Chattopadhyay D, Giuseppetti R, De Pace R, Magurano F. Characterization of microbial response to petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in a lacustrine ecosystem. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:26187-26196. [PMID: 33871774 PMCID: PMC8154760 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13885-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microbiomes of freshwater basins intended for human use remain poorly studied, with very little known about the microbial response to in situ oil spills. Lake Pertusillo is an artificial freshwater reservoir in Basilicata, Italy, and serves as the primary source of drinking water for more than one and a half million people in the region. Notably, it is located in close proximity to one of the largest oil extraction plants in Europe. The lake suffered a major oil spill in 2017, where approximately 400 tons of crude oil spilled into the lake; importantly, the pollution event provided a rare opportunity to study how the lacustrine microbiome responds to petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. Water samples were collected from Lake Pertusillo 10 months prior to and 3 months after the accident. The presence of hydrocarbons was verified and the taxonomic and functional aspects of the lake microbiome were assessed. The analysis revealed specialized successional patterns of lake microbial communities that were potentially capable of degrading complex, recalcitrant hydrocarbons, including aromatic, chloroaromatic, nitroaromatic, and sulfur containing aromatic hydrocarbons. Our findings indicated that changes in the freshwater microbial community were associated with the oil pollution event, where microbial patterns identified in the lacustrine microbiome 3 months after the oil spill were representative of its hydrocarbonoclastic potential and may serve as effective proxies for lacustrine oil pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio D’Ugo
- Department of Infection Diseases, National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Milena Bruno
- Core Facilities, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Arghya Mukherjee
- Center for Genetic Engineering and the Department of Biotechnology, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, India
| | - Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay
- Center for Genetic Engineering and the Department of Biotechnology, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, India
| | - Roberto Giuseppetti
- Department of Infection Diseases, National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Rita De Pace
- Department of Foggia, Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata Regions, Foggia, Italy
| | - Fabio Magurano
- Department of Infection Diseases, National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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19
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Michán C, Blasco J, Alhama J. High-throughput molecular analyses of microbiomes as a tool to monitor the wellbeing of aquatic environments. Microb Biotechnol 2021; 14:870-885. [PMID: 33559398 PMCID: PMC8085945 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquatic environments are the recipients of many sources of environmental stress that trigger both local and global changes. To evaluate the associated risks to organisms and ecosystems more sensitive and accurate strategies are required. The analysis of the microbiome is one of the most promising candidates for environmental diagnosis of aquatic systems. Culture-independent interconnected meta-omic approaches are being increasing used to fill the gaps that classical microbial approaches cannot resolve. Here, we provide a prospective view of the increasing application of these high-throughput molecular technologies to evaluate the structure and functional activity of microbial communities in response to changes and disturbances in the environment, mostly of anthropogenic origin. Some relevant topics are reviewed, such as: (i) the use of microorganisms for water quality assessment, highlighting the incidence of antimicrobial resistance as an increasingly serious threat to global public health; (ii) the crucial role of microorganisms and their complex relationships with the ongoing climate change, and other stress threats; (iii) the responses of the environmental microbiome to extreme pollution conditions, such as acid mine drainage or oil spills. Moreover, protists and viruses, due to their huge impacts on the structure of microbial communities, are emerging candidates for the assessment of aquatic environmental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Michán
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularCampus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3Universidad de CórdobaCampus de Rabanales, Edificio Severo OchoaCórdobaE‐14071Spain
| | - Julián Blasco
- Department of Ecology and Coastal ManagementICMAN‐CSICCampus Rio San PedroPuerto Real (Cádiz)E‐11510Spain
| | - José Alhama
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularCampus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3Universidad de CórdobaCampus de Rabanales, Edificio Severo OchoaCórdobaE‐14071Spain
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20
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Isolation Chip Increases Culturable Bacterial Diversity and Reduces Cultivation Bias. Curr Microbiol 2021; 78:2025-2032. [PMID: 33821359 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-021-02474-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Conventional cultivation methods, including petri dish plating, are selective and biased to enrich specific microorganisms, such as big population and fast-growing bacteria. In this study, we evaluated the ability of isolation chip (ichip) to reduce cultivation bias. We used the ichip and petri dish plating methods to cultivate bacteria from soil contaminated with (contaminated soil) or without (natural soil) crude oil. Ichip improved the richness and evenness of bacterial isolates in both the natural and contaminated soil samples. Using the petri dish plating method, Pseudomonas and Lysinibacillus isolates were found to be the most abundant, with over 50% of the relative abundance in the natural and oil-polluted soil-cultured communities, respectively. In comparison, using the ichip method, the isolates with the highest relative abundances were from Bacillus and Aeromonas in natural and contaminated soil-cultured communities, which only accounted for 20% and 28% of the total isolates, respectively. Interestingly, the evenness and richness of the bacteria varied slightly between the natural and oil-polluted soil samples, indicating that ichip had the ability to reduce the cultivation bias. In addition, oil selective pressure enriched the functional bacteria isolated using the petri dish plating method. In summary, ichip allows bacteria to grow evenly, as well as allowing for substance exchange between the environment and single cells. As such, it is a very good method for increasing culturable bacterial diversity and reducing cultivation bias.
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21
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Viver T, Conrad RE, Orellana LH, Urdiain M, González-Pastor JE, Hatt JK, Amann R, Antón J, Konstantinidis KT, Rosselló-Móra R. Distinct ecotypes within a natural haloarchaeal population enable adaptation to changing environmental conditions without causing population sweeps. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:1178-1191. [PMID: 33342997 PMCID: PMC8182817 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-00842-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities thriving in hypersaline brines of solar salterns are highly resistant and resilient to environmental changes, and salinity is a major factor that deterministically influences community structure. Here, we demonstrate that this resilience occurs even after rapid osmotic shocks caused by a threefold change in salinity (a reduction from 34 to 12% salts) leading to massive amounts of archaeal cell lysis. Specifically, our temporal metagenomic datasets identified two co-occurring ecotypes within the most dominant archaeal population of the brines Haloquadratum walsbyi that exhibited different salt concentration preferences. The dominant ecotype was generally more abundant and occurred in high-salt conditions (34%); the low abundance ecotype always co-occurred but was enriched at salinities around 20% or lower and carried unique gene content related to solute transport and gene regulation. Despite their apparent distinct ecological preferences, the ecotypes did not outcompete each other presumably due to weak functional differentiation between them. Further, the osmotic shock selected for a temporal increase in taxonomic and functional diversity at both the Hqr. walsbyi population and whole-community levels supporting the specialization-disturbance hypothesis, that is, the expectation that disturbance favors generalists. Altogether, our results provide new insights into how intraspecies diversity is maintained in light of substantial gene-content differences and major environmental perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomeu Viver
- grid.466857.e0000 0000 8518 7126Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Animal and Microbial Biodiversity, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
| | - Roth E. Conrad
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Luis H. Orellana
- grid.419529.20000 0004 0491 3210Department of Molecular Ecology, Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen, D-28359 Germany
| | - Mercedes Urdiain
- grid.466857.e0000 0000 8518 7126Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Animal and Microbial Biodiversity, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
| | - José E. González-Pastor
- grid.462011.00000 0001 2199 0769Laboratory of Molecular Adaptation, Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas—Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain
| | - Janet K. Hatt
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Rudolf Amann
- grid.419529.20000 0004 0491 3210Department of Molecular Ecology, Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen, D-28359 Germany
| | - Josefa Antón
- grid.5268.90000 0001 2168 1800Department of Physiology, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Ramon Rosselló-Móra
- grid.466857.e0000 0000 8518 7126Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Animal and Microbial Biodiversity, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
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22
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Kurth D, Elias D, Rasuk MC, Contreras M, Farías ME. Carbon fixation and rhodopsin systems in microbial mats from hypersaline lakes Brava and Tebenquiche, Salar de Atacama, Chile. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246656. [PMID: 33561170 PMCID: PMC7872239 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, molecular diversity of two hypersaline microbial mats was compared by Whole Genome Shotgun (WGS) sequencing of environmental DNA from the mats. Brava and Tebenquiche are lakes in the Salar de Atacama, Chile, where microbial communities are growing in extreme conditions, including high salinity, high solar irradiance, and high levels of toxic metals and metaloids. Evaporation creates hypersaline conditions in these lakes and mineral precipitation is a characteristic geomicrobiological feature of these benthic ecosystems. The mat from Brava was more rich and diverse, with a higher number of different taxa and with species more evenly distributed. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the most abundant, including ~75% of total sequences. At the genus level, the most abundant sequences were affilitated to anoxygenic phototropic and cyanobacterial genera. In Tebenquiche mats, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes covered ~70% of the sequences, and 13% of the sequences were affiliated to Salinibacter genus, thus addressing the lower diversity. Regardless of the differences at the taxonomic level, functionally the two mats were similar. Thus, similar roles could be fulfilled by different organisms. Carbon fixation through the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway was well represented in these datasets, and also in other mats from Andean lakes. In spite of presenting less taxonomic diversity, Tebenquiche mats showed increased abundance and variety of rhodopsin genes. Comparison with other metagenomes allowed identifying xantorhodopsins as hallmark genes not only from Brava and Tebenquiche mats, but also for other mats developing at high altitudes in similar environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kurth
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones Microbiológicas de Lagunas Andinas (LIMLA), Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos (PROIMI), CCT, CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Dario Elias
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, Oro Verde, Entre Ríos, Argentina
| | - María Cecilia Rasuk
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones Microbiológicas de Lagunas Andinas (LIMLA), Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos (PROIMI), CCT, CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
| | | | - María Eugenia Farías
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones Microbiológicas de Lagunas Andinas (LIMLA), Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos (PROIMI), CCT, CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
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Galitskaya P, Biktasheva L, Kuryntseva P, Selivanovskaya S. Response of soil bacterial communities to high petroleum content in the absence of remediation procedures. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:9610-9627. [PMID: 33155112 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11290-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Oil spills are events that frequently lead to petroleum pollution. This pollution may cause stress to microbial communities, which require long adaption periods. Soil petroleum pollution is currently considered one of the most serious environmental problems. In the present work, processes occurring in the bacterial communities of three soil samples with different physicochemical characteristics, artificially polluted with 12% of crude oil, were investigated in 120-day laboratory experiment. It was found that the total petroleum hydrocarbon content did not decrease during this time; however, the proportion of petroleum fractions was altered. Petroleum pollution led to a short-term decrease in the bacterial 16S rRNA gene copy number. On the basis of amplicon sequencing analysis, it was concluded that bacterial community successions were similar in the three soils investigated. Thus, the phyla Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria and candidate TM7 phylum (Saccaribacteria) were predominant with relative abundances ranging from 35 to 58%, 25 to 30%, and 15 to 35% in different samples, respectively. The predominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) after pollution belonged to the genera Rhodococcus and Mycobacterium, families Nocardioidaceae and Sinobacteraceae, and candidate class ТМ7-3. Genes from the alkIII group encoding monoxygenases were the most abundant compared with other catabolic genes from the alkI, alkII, GN-PAH, and GP-PAH groups, and their copy number significantly increased after pollution. The copy numbers of expressed genes involved in the horizontal transfer of catabolic genes, FlgC, TraG, and OmpF, also increased after pollution by 11-33, 16-63, and 11-71 times, respectively. The bacterial community structure after a high level of petroleum pollution changed because of proliferation of the cells that initially were able to decompose hydrocarbons, and in the second place, because proliferation of the cells that received these catabolic genes through horizontal transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polina Galitskaya
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia, 420008
| | - Liliya Biktasheva
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia, 420008.
| | - Polina Kuryntseva
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia, 420008
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24
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Zhu C, Miller M, Lusskin N, Bergk Pinto B, Maccario L, Häggblom M, Vogel T, Larose C, Bromberg Y. Snow microbiome functional analyses reveal novel aspects of microbial metabolism of complex organic compounds. Microbiologyopen 2020; 9:e1100. [PMID: 32762019 PMCID: PMC7520998 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.1100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbes active in extreme cold are not as well explored as those of other extreme environments. Studies have revealed a substantial microbial diversity and identified cold-specific microbiome molecular functions. We analyzed the metagenomes and metatranscriptomes of 20 snow samples collected in early and late spring in Svalbard, Norway using mi-faser, our read-based computational microbiome function annotation tool. Our results reveal a more diverse microbiome functional capacity and activity in the early- vs. late-spring samples. We also find that functional dissimilarity between the same-sample metagenomes and metatranscriptomes is significantly higher in early than late spring samples. These findings suggest that early spring samples may contain a larger fraction of DNA of dormant (or dead) organisms, while late spring samples reflect a new, metabolically active community. We further show that the abundance of sequencing reads mapping to the fatty acid synthesis-related microbial pathways in late spring metagenomes and metatranscriptomes is significantly correlated with the organic acid levels measured in these samples. Similarly, the organic acid levels correlate with the pathway read abundances of geraniol degradation and inversely correlate with those of styrene degradation, suggesting a possible nutrient change. Our study thus highlights the activity of microbial degradation pathways of complex organic compounds previously unreported at low temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengsheng Zhu
- Department of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
| | - Maximilian Miller
- Department of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
| | - Nicholas Lusskin
- Department of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
| | - Benoît Bergk Pinto
- Environmental Microbial GenomicsLaboratoire AmpereEcole Centrale de LyonCNRS UMR 5005Université de LyonEcullyFrance
| | - Lorrie Maccario
- Environmental Microbial GenomicsLaboratoire AmpereEcole Centrale de LyonCNRS UMR 5005Université de LyonEcullyFrance
- Section of MicrobiologyCopenhagen UniversityCopenhagen ØDenmark
| | - Max Häggblom
- Department of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
| | - Timothy Vogel
- Environmental Microbial GenomicsLaboratoire AmpereEcole Centrale de LyonCNRS UMR 5005Université de LyonEcullyFrance
| | - Catherine Larose
- Environmental Microbial GenomicsLaboratoire AmpereEcole Centrale de LyonCNRS UMR 5005Université de LyonEcullyFrance
| | - Yana Bromberg
- Department of Biochemistry and MicrobiologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
- Department of GeneticsHuman Genetics InstituteRutgers UniversityPiscatawayNJUSA
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Niche Partitioning between Coastal and Offshore Shelf Waters Results in Differential Expression of Alkane and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Catabolic Pathways. mSystems 2020; 5:5/4/e00668-20. [PMID: 32843540 PMCID: PMC7449609 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00668-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the taxonomic response of marine microbial communities to oil and dispersants has been extensively studied. However, relatively few studies on the functional response of these microbial communities have been reported, especially in a longitudinal fashion. Moreover, despite the fact that marine oil spills typically impact thousands of square kilometers of both coastal and offshore marine environments, little information is available on how the microbial response to oil and dispersants might differ between these biomes. The results of this study help fill this critical knowledge gap and provide valuable insight into how oil spill response efforts, such as chemically dispersing oil, may have differing effects in neighboring coastal and offshore marine environments. Marine oil spills can impact both coastal and offshore marine environments, but little information is available on how the microbial response to oil and dispersants might differ between these biomes. Here, we describe the compositional and functional response of microbial communities to different concentrations of oil and chemically dispersed oil in coastal and offshore surface waters from the Texas-Louisiana continental shelf. Using a combination of analytical chemistry and 16S rRNA amplicon and metatranscriptomic sequencing, we provide a broad, comparative overview of the ecological response of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and their expression of hydrocarbon-degrading genes in marine surface waters over time between two oceanic biomes. We found evidence for the existence of different ecotypes of several commonly described hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial taxa which behaved differentially in coastal and offshore shelf waters despite being exposed to similar concentrations of oil, dispersants, and nutrients. This resulted in the differential expression of catabolic pathways for n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—the two major categories of compounds found in crude oil—with preferential expression of n-alkane degradation genes in coastal waters while offshore microbial communities trended more toward the expression of PAH degradation genes. This was unexpected as it contrasts with the generally held view that n-alkanes, being more labile, are attacked before the more refractory PAHs. Collectively, our results provide new insights into the existence and potential consequences of niche partitioning of hydrocarbon-degrading taxa between neighboring marine environments. IMPORTANCE In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the taxonomic response of marine microbial communities to oil and dispersants has been extensively studied. However, relatively few studies on the functional response of these microbial communities have been reported, especially in a longitudinal fashion. Moreover, despite the fact that marine oil spills typically impact thousands of square kilometers of both coastal and offshore marine environments, little information is available on how the microbial response to oil and dispersants might differ between these biomes. The results of this study help fill this critical knowledge gap and provide valuable insight into how oil spill response efforts, such as chemically dispersing oil, may have differing effects in neighboring coastal and offshore marine environments.
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Miller JI, Techtmann S, Joyner D, Mahmoudi N, Fortney J, Fordyce JA, GaraJayeva N, Askerov FS, Cravid C, Kuijper M, Pelz O, Hazen TC. Microbial Communities across Global Marine Basins Show Important Compositional Similarities by Depth. mBio 2020; 11:e01448-20. [PMID: 32817104 PMCID: PMC7439485 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01448-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The environmental surveys following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill identified a variety of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms, and laboratory studies with field-collected water samples then demonstrated faster-than-expected hydrocarbon biodegradation rates at 5°C. Knowledge about microbial community composition, diversity, and functional metabolic capabilities aids in understanding and predicting petroleum biodegradation by microbial communities in situ and is therefore an important component of the petroleum spill response decision-making process. This study investigates the taxonomic composition of microbial communities in six different global basins where petroleum and gas activities occur. Shallow-water communities were strikingly similar across basins, while deep-water communities tended to show subclusters by basin, with communities from the epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic zones sometimes appearing within the same cluster. Microbial taxa that were enriched in the water column in the Gulf of Mexico following the DWH spill were found across marine basins. Several hydrocarbon-degrading genera (e.g., Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas, and Rhodobacteriacea) were common across all basins. Other genera such as Pseudoalteromonas and Oleibacter were highly enriched in specific basins.IMPORTANCE Marine microbial communities are a vital component of global carbon cycling, and numerous studies have shown that populations of petroleum-degrading bacteria are ubiquitous in the oceans. Few studies have attempted to distinguish all of the taxa that might contribute to petroleum biodegradation (including, e.g., heterotrophic and nondesignated microbes that respond positively to petroleum and microbes that grow on petroleum as the sole carbon source). This study quantifies the subpopulations of microorganisms that are expected to be involved in petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation, which is important information during the decision-making process in the event of a petroleum spill accident.
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Affiliation(s)
- John I Miller
- Bredesen Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Stephen Techtmann
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Dominique Joyner
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Nagissa Mahmoudi
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Julian Fortney
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - James A Fordyce
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Oliver Pelz
- BP International, Sunbury on Thames, United Kingdom
| | - Terry C Hazen
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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27
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Karthikeyan S, Kim M, Heritier-Robbins P, Hatt JK, Spain JC, Overholt WA, Huettel M, Kostka JE, Konstantinidis KT. Integrated Omics Elucidate the Mechanisms Driving the Rapid Biodegradation of Deepwater Horizon Oil in Intertidal Sediments Undergoing Oxic-Anoxic Cycles. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:10088-10099. [PMID: 32667785 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c02834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Crude oil buried in intertidal sands may be exposed to alternating oxic and anoxic conditions but the effect of this tidally induced biogeochemical oscillation remains poorly understood, limiting the effectiveness of remediation and managing efforts after oil spills. Here, we used a combination of metatranscriptomics and genome-resolved metagenomics to study microbial activities in oil-contaminated sediments during oxic-anoxic cycles in laboratory chambers that closely emulated in situ conditions. Approximately 5-fold higher reductions in the total petroleum hydrocarbons were observed in the oxic as compared to the anoxic phases with a relatively constant ratio between aerobic and anaerobic oil decomposition rates even after prolonged anoxic conditions. Metatranscriptomics analysis indicated that the oxic phases promoted oil biodegradation in subsequent anoxic phases by microbially mediated reoxidation of alternative electron acceptors like sulfide and by providing degradation-limiting nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation. Most population genomes reconstructed from the mesocosm samples represented uncultured taxa and were present typically as members of the rare biosphere in metagenomic data from uncontaminated field samples, implying that the intertidal communities are adapted to changes in redox conditions. Collectively, these results have important implications for enhancing oil spill remediation efforts in beach sands and coastal sediments and underscore the role of uncultured taxa in such efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smruthi Karthikeyan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Minjae Kim
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Patrick Heritier-Robbins
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Janet K Hatt
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Jim C Spain
- Center for Environmental Diagnostics & Bioremediation, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola 32514, Florida, United States
| | - Will A Overholt
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Markus Huettel
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306-4320, Florida, United States
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0002, Georgia, United States
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28
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Raggi L, García-Guevara F, Godoy-Lozano EE, Martínez-Santana A, Escobar-Zepeda A, Gutierrez-Rios RM, Loza A, Merino E, Sanchez-Flores A, Licea-Navarro A, Pardo-Lopez L, Segovia L, Juarez K. Metagenomic Profiling and Microbial Metabolic Potential of Perdido Fold Belt (NW) and Campeche Knolls (SE) in the Gulf of Mexico. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1825. [PMID: 32903729 PMCID: PMC7438803 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is a particular environment that is continuously exposed to hydrocarbon compounds that may influence the microbial community composition. We carried out a metagenomic assessment of the bacterial community to get an overall view of this geographical zone. We analyzed both taxonomic and metabolic markers profiles to explain how the indigenous GoM microorganims participate in the biogeochemical cycling. Two geographically distant regions in the GoM, one in the north-west (NW) and one in the south-east (SE) of the GoM were analyzed and showed differences in their microbial composition and metabolic potential. These differences provide evidence the delicate equilibrium that sustains microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles. Based on the taxonomy and gene groups, the NW are more oxic sediments than SE ones, which have anaerobic conditions. Both water and sediments show the expected sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrocarbon metabolism genes, with particularly high diversity of the hydrocarbon-degrading ones. Accordingly, many of the assigned genera were associated with hydrocarbon degradation processes, Nitrospira and Sva0081 were the most abundant in sediments, while Vibrio, Alteromonas, and Alcanivorax were mostly detected in water samples. This basal-state analysis presents the GoM as a potential source of aerobic and anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation genes important for the ecological dynamics of hydrocarbons and the potential use for water and sediment bioremediation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Raggi
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico.,CONACYT-Laboratorio de Biotecnología Acuícola, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico
| | | | - E Ernestina Godoy-Lozano
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico.,Centro de Investigación Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Bioinformática en Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Antonio Loza
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Enrique Merino
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | | | - Alexei Licea-Navarro
- Laboratorio de Inmunología Molecular y Biotoxinas, Departamento de Innovación Biomedica, CICESE, Ensenada, Mexico
| | - Liliana Pardo-Lopez
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Lorenzo Segovia
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Katy Juarez
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
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29
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Thomas GE, Cameron TC, Campo P, Clark DR, Coulon F, Gregson BH, Hepburn LJ, McGenity TJ, Miliou A, Whitby C, McKew BA. Bacterial Community Legacy Effects Following the Agia Zoni II Oil-Spill, Greece. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1706. [PMID: 32765479 PMCID: PMC7379155 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In September 2017 the Agia Zoni II sank in the Saronic Gulf, Greece, releasing approximately 500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, contaminating the Salamina and Athens coastlines. Effects of the spill, and remediation efforts, on sediment microbial communities were quantified over the following 7 months. Five days post-spill, the concentration of measured hydrocarbons within surface sediments of contaminated beaches was 1,093-3,773 μg g-1 dry sediment (91% alkanes and 9% polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), but measured hydrocarbons decreased rapidly after extensive clean-up operations. Bacterial genera known to contain oil-degrading species increased in abundance, including Alcanivorax, Cycloclasticus, Oleibacter, Oleiphilus, and Thalassolituus, and the species Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus from approximately 0.02 to >32% (collectively) of the total bacterial community. Abundance of genera with known hydrocarbon-degraders then decreased 1 month after clean-up. However, a legacy effect was observed within the bacterial community, whereby Alcanivorax and Cycloclasticus persisted for several months after the oil spill in formerly contaminated sites. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of the Agia Zoni II oil-spill on microbial communities in an oligotrophic sea, where in situ oil-spill studies are rare. The results aid the advancement of post-spill monitoring models, which can predict the capability of environments to naturally attenuate oil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth E. Thomas
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | - Tom C. Cameron
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | - Pablo Campo
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
| | - Dave R. Clark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
- Institute for Analytics and Data Science, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Essex, United Kingdom
| | - Frederic Coulon
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Leanne J. Hepburn
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | - Terry J. McGenity
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | | | - Corinne Whitby
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
| | - Boyd A. McKew
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
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30
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Cai P, Ning Z, Liu Y, He Z, Shi J, Niu M. Diagnosing bioremediation of crude oil-contaminated soil and related geochemical processes at the field scale through microbial community and functional genes. ANN MICROBIOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1186/s13213-020-01580-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
Bioremediation is widely considered the most desirable procedure for remediation of oil-contaminated soil. Few studies have focused on the relationships among microbial community, functional genes of biodegradation, and geochemical processes during field bioremediation, which provide crucial information for bioremediation.
Methods
In the current study, the microbial community and functional genes related to hydrocarbon and nitrogen metabolism, combined with the soil physico-chemical properties, were used to diagnose a set of bioremediation experiments, including bioaugmentation, biostimulation, and phytoremediation, at the field scale.
Result
The results showed that the added nutrients stimulated a variety of microorganisms, including hydrocarbon degradation bacteria and nitrogen metabolism microorganisms. The functional genes reflected the possibility of aerobic denitrification in the field, which may be helpful in biodegradation. Biostimulation was found to be the most suitable of the studied bioremediation methods in the field.
Conclusion
We offer a feasible approach to obtain useful bioremediation information and assist with the development of appropriate remediation procedures. The findings improve our knowledge of the interactions between microorganisms and edaphic parameters.
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31
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Zhao Y, Chen W, Wen D. The effects of crude oil on microbial nitrogen cycling in coastal sediments. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 139:105724. [PMID: 32305744 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Crude oil could affect certain critical microbial processes of nitrogen cycling (N-cycling) in coastal sediments, and disturb the nitrogen balance. However, the understanding of the effects of crude oil on coastal sediments N-cycling under human disturbance was still limited. In this study, two sediments (named SY and HB with heavy and slight pollution, respectively) were sampled from Hangzhou Bay, China. After an incubation with exposure to different amounts of crude oil in above two sediments for 30 days, we found that crude oil affected microbial N-cycling in multiple levels. Potential rate measurements revealed that crude oil stimulated potential denitrification and N2O emissions in both sediments, which showed a higher influence on denitrification rates in higher concentration of oil. Quantitative PCR revealed that crude oil greatly increased abundances of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes and N-cycling genes (nirS, nosZ, nrfA, part of AOA and AOB amoA). On the other hand, only a few genes (16S rRNA and nrfA) showed higher transcriptional activities in oil-addition treatments. Results about relative changes of N-cycling genes revealed that the variations of N-cycling genes in oil-addition treatments were related to sediment types but not crude oil concentrations, and the genes in HB were more sensitive to crude oil than SY. Network analysis of N-cycling genes found that crude oil decreased the complexity of N-cycling gene networks in SY, while increased complexity in HB, and led to more competition among N-cycling microbes. Our findings help to look into the effects of crude oil on key N-cycling processes, and improve the understanding of the interactions among N-cycling under crude oil contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanan Zhao
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Weidong Chen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Donghui Wen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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32
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A Role for Gut Microbiome Fermentative Pathways in Fatty Liver Disease Progression. J Clin Med 2020; 9:jcm9051369. [PMID: 32392712 PMCID: PMC7291163 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9051369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial disease in which environmental and genetic factors are involved. Although the molecular mechanisms involved in NAFLD onset and progression are not completely understood, the gut microbiome (GM) is thought to play a key role in the process, influencing multiple physiological functions. GM alterations in diversity and composition directly impact disease states with an inflammatory course, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, how the GM influences liver disease susceptibility is largely unknown. Similarly, the impact of strategies targeting the GM for the treatment of NASH remains to be evaluated. This review provides a broad insight into the role of gut microbiota in NASH pathogenesis, as a diagnostic tool, and as a therapeutic target in this liver disease. We highlight the idea that the balance in metabolic fermentations can be key in maintaining liver homeostasis. We propose that an overabundance of alcohol-fermentation pathways in the GM may outcompete healthier, acid-producing members of the microbiota. In this way, GM ecology may precipitate a self-sustaining vicious cycle, boosting liver disease progression.
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Wang H, Li H, Sun K, Huang H, Zhu P, Lu Z. Impact of exogenous nitrogen on the cyanobacterial abundance and community in oil-contaminated sediment: A microcosm study. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 710:136296. [PMID: 31918192 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The pollution caused by oil spills is a global problem, and outbreaks of blue algae in oil-polluted areas are harmful to plankton in the ocean. The ocean is a barren environment limited by low availabilities of nitrogen and other nutrients, and further nitrogen limitation caused by oil contamination is considered one of the important factors leading to outbreaks of cyanobacteria, but the effects of nitrogen amendment in this situation are not well understood. Here, we present the results from nitrogen amendment experiments conducted in oil-contaminated microcosms. Green mats appeared on the sediment surface of each treatment group at different time points. The appearance of cyanobacterial blooms in the oil-contaminated group supplemented with nitrogen was significantly delayed compared with that in the oil-contaminated group without nitrogen addition. Moreover, oil promoted nitrogen fixation and stimulated the growth of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in the oil-contaminated microcosms. Our results suggest that nitrogen limitation is a vital factor for the induction of cyanobacterial blooms in oil-contaminated environments, and the addition of nitrogen reduced the abundance of cyanobacteria by up to approximately 2.5-fold and slowed the bloom process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haixia Wang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hanbo Li
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Kaikai Sun
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hui Huang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Panpan Zhu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhenmei Lu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, Institute of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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Karthikeyan S, Rodriguez-R LM, Heritier-Robbins P, Hatt JK, Huettel M, Kostka JE, Konstantinidis KT. Genome repository of oil systems: An interactive and searchable database that expands the catalogued diversity of crude oil-associated microbes. Environ Microbiol 2020; 22:2094-2106. [PMID: 32114693 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Microbial communities ultimately control the fate of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) that enter the natural environment, but the interactions of microbes with PHCs and the environment are highly complex and poorly understood. Genome-resolved metagenomics can help unravel these complex interactions. However, the lack of a comprehensive database that integrates existing genomic/metagenomic data from oil environments with physicochemical parameters known to regulate the fate of PHCs currently limits data analysis and interpretations. Here, we curated a comprehensive, searchable database that documents microbial populations in natural oil ecosystems and oil spills, along with available underlying physicochemical data, geocoded via geographic information system to reveal their geographic distribution patterns. Analysis of the ~2000 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) available in the database revealed strong ecological niche specialization within habitats. Over 95% of the recovered MAGs represented novel taxa underscoring the limited representation of cultured organisms from oil-contaminated and oil reservoir ecosystems. The majority of MAGs linked to oil-contaminated ecosystems were detectable in non-oiled samples from the Gulf of Mexico but not in comparable samples from elsewhere, indicating that the Gulf is primed for oil biodegradation. The repository should facilitate future work toward a predictive understanding of the microbial taxa and their activities that control the fate of oil spills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smruthi Karthikeyan
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Room 3321, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Luis M Rodriguez-R
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Room 3321, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Patrick Heritier-Robbins
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Room 3321, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Janet K Hatt
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Room 3321, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Markus Huettel
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.,School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Room 3321, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Metagenomics as a Public Health Risk Assessment Tool in a Study of Natural Creek Sediments Influenced by Agricultural and Livestock Runoff: Potential and Limitations. Appl Environ Microbiol 2020; 86:AEM.02525-19. [PMID: 31924621 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02525-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Little is known about the public health risks associated with natural creek sediments that are affected by runoff and fecal pollution from agricultural and livestock practices. For instance, the persistence of foodborne pathogens such as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) originating from these practices remains poorly quantified. Towards closing these knowledge gaps, the water-sediment interface of two creeks in the Salinas River Valley of California was sampled over a 9-month period using metagenomics and traditional culture-based tests for STEC. Our results revealed that these sediment communities are extremely diverse and have functional and taxonomic diversity comparable to that observed in soils. With our sequencing effort (∼4 Gbp per library), we were unable to detect any pathogenic E. coli in the metagenomes of 11 samples that had tested positive using culture-based methods, apparently due to relatively low abundance. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the abundance of human- or cow-specific gut microbiome sequences in the downstream impacted sites compared to that in upstream more pristine (control) sites, indicating natural dilution of anthropogenic inputs. Notably, the high number of metagenomic reads carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) found in all samples was significantly higher than ARG reads in other available freshwater and soil metagenomes, suggesting that these communities may be natural reservoirs of ARGs. The work presented here should serve as a guide for sampling volumes, amount of sequencing to apply, and what bioinformatics analyses to perform when using metagenomics for public health risk studies of environmental samples such as sediments.IMPORTANCE Current agricultural and livestock practices contribute to fecal contamination in the environment and the spread of food- and waterborne disease and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Traditionally, the level of pollution and risk to public health are assessed by culture-based tests for the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli However, the accuracy of these traditional methods (e.g., low accuracy in quantification, and false-positive signal when PCR based) and their suitability for sediments remain unclear. We collected sediments for a time series metagenomics study from one of the most highly productive agricultural regions in the United States in order to assess how agricultural runoff affects the native microbial communities and if the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in sediment samples can be detected directly by sequencing. Our study provided important information on the potential for using metagenomics as a tool for assessment of public health risk in natural environments.
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Lu XM, Peng X, Qin S, Xue F, Wu JN. Microbial community successional patterns in offshore sediments impacted by chemical pollution from Taizhou and Xiamen Cities in China. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2020; 150:110600. [PMID: 31669980 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
An Illumina-based next-generation sequencing was employed to characterise the sediment microbiome adjacent to coastal industrial and tourist cities, Taizhou and Xiamen, in China, and their associations with chemical pollution were explored. The results indicated that chemical pollution of sediments from Taizhou was higher than that from Xiamen. The number of sediment bacterial genera was negatively (Taizhou) or positively (Xiamen) correlated with offshore distance, owing to shifts in the primary and secondary status of organic matter and chemical pollutants for the promotion or inhibition of the sediment microbiome. The total number of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in sediments from Taizhou was larger than from Xiamen, while the number of core OTUs was smaller indicating that Taizhou had more impact on core microbes in sediments than Xiamen. This study suggests that chemical pollutants and organic matter result in different co-regulation of the off-shore sediment microbiome of coastal industrial and tourist cities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Ming Lu
- School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, 350118, China
| | - Xin Peng
- Marine Resources and Environment Research Center, Zhejiang Mariculture Research Institute, Wenzhou, 325005, China.
| | - Song Qin
- Marine Resources and Environment Research Center, Zhejiang Mariculture Research Institute, Wenzhou, 325005, China
| | - Feng Xue
- Marine Resources and Environment Research Center, Zhejiang Mariculture Research Institute, Wenzhou, 325005, China
| | - Jiang-Nan Wu
- School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, 350118, China
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Shin B, Bociu I, Kolton M, Huettel M, Kostka JE. Succession of microbial populations and nitrogen-fixation associated with the biodegradation of sediment-oil-agglomerates buried in a Florida sandy beach. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19401. [PMID: 31852991 PMCID: PMC6920467 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55625-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill contaminated coastlines from Louisiana to Florida, burying oil up to 70 cm depth in sandy beaches, posing a potential threat to environmental and human health. The dry and nutrient-poor beach sand presents a taxing environment for microbial growth, raising the question how the biodegradation of the buried oil would proceed. Here we report the results of an in-situ experiment that (i) characterized the dominant microbial communities contained in sediment oil agglomerates (SOAs) of DWH oil buried in a North Florida sandy beach, (ii) elucidated the long-term succession of the microbial populations that developed in the SOAs, and (iii) revealed the coupling of SOA degradation to nitrogen fixation. Orders of magnitude higher bacterial abundances in SOAs compared to surrounding sands distinguished SOAs as hotspots of microbial growth. Blooms of bacterial taxa with a demonstrated potential for hydrocarbon degradation (Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria) developed in the SOAs, initiating a succession of microbial populations that mirrored the evolution of the petroleum hydrocarbons. Growth of nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes or diazotrophs (Rhizobiales and Frankiales), reflected in increased abundances of nitrogenase genes (nifH), catalyzed biodegradation of the nitrogen-poor petroleum hydrocarbons, emphasizing nitrogen fixation as a central mechanism facilitating the recovery of sandy beaches after oil contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boryoung Shin
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ioana Bociu
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Max Kolton
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Markus Huettel
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. .,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Hu A, Wang H, Cao M, Rashid A, Li M, Yu CP. Environmental Filtering Drives the Assembly of Habitat Generalists and Specialists in the Coastal Sand Microbial Communities of Southern China. Microorganisms 2019; 7:microorganisms7120598. [PMID: 31766562 PMCID: PMC6955893 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7120598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Coastal sands harbor diverse microbial assemblages that play a critical role in the biogeochemical cycling of beach ecosystems. However, little is known about the relative importance of the different ecological processes underlying the assembly of communities of sand microbiota. Here, we employed 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing to investigate the sand microbiota of two coastal beaches, in southern China. The results showed that sand microbial assemblages at intertidal and supratidal zones exhibited contrasting compositions that can be attributed to environmental filtering by electric conductivity. A consistent pattern of habitat generalists and specialists of sand microbiota was observed among different beach zones. Null and neutral model analyses indicated that the environmental filtering was mainly responsible for supratidal microbial communities, while the neutral processes could partially influence the assembly of intertidal communities. Moreover, environmental filtering was found to shape the habitat specialists, while random dispersal played a major role in shaping generalists. The neutral model analysis revealed that the habitat generalists exceeding the neutral prediction harbored a relatively higher proportion of microbial taxa than the specialist counterparts. An opposite pattern was observed for taxa falling below the neutral prediction. Collectively, these findings offer a novel insight into the assembly mechanisms of coastal sand microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anyi Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; (H.W.); (M.C.); (A.R.); (C.-P.Y.)
- Correspondence: (A.H.); (M.L.); Tel.: +86-592-6190582 (A.H.); +86-596-2591356 (M.L.)
| | - Hongjie Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; (H.W.); (M.C.); (A.R.); (C.-P.Y.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Meixian Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; (H.W.); (M.C.); (A.R.); (C.-P.Y.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Azhar Rashid
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; (H.W.); (M.C.); (A.R.); (C.-P.Y.)
- Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, Tarnab, Peshawar 446, Pakistan
| | - Mingfeng Li
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, China
- Correspondence: (A.H.); (M.L.); Tel.: +86-592-6190582 (A.H.); +86-596-2591356 (M.L.)
| | - Chang-Ping Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; (H.W.); (M.C.); (A.R.); (C.-P.Y.)
- Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
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Yu X, Lee K, Ulrich AC. Model naphthenic acids removal by microalgae and Base Mine Lake cap water microbial inoculum. CHEMOSPHERE 2019; 234:796-805. [PMID: 31247489 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.06.110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Naphthenic acids (NAs) originate from bitumen and are considered a major contributor to acute toxicity in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) produced from bitumen extraction processes. To reclaim oil sands tailings and remediate OSPW, in-pit fluid fine tailings can be water-capped as end pit lakes (EPL). Addressing NAs present in OSPW, either through removal, dilution or degradation, is an objective for oil sands reclamation. EPLs can remediate NAs through degradation or dilution or both. To assess and understand degradation potential, Chlorella kessleri and Botryococcus braunii were tested for their tolerance to, and ability to biodegrade, three model NAs (cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, cyclohexaneacetic acid, and cyclohexanebutyric acid). Water sourced from the industry's first EPL, the Base Mine Lake (BML), was used alone as an inoculum or co-cultured with C. kessleri to biodegrade cyclohexanecarboxylic acid and cyclohexanebutyric acid. All cultures metabolized the model compounds via β-oxidation. Biodegradation by the co-culture of C. kessleri and BML inoculum was most effective and rapid: the cyclohexaneacetic acid generated from cyclohexanebutyric acid could be further degraded by the co-culture, while the cyclohexaneacetic acid generated could not be consumed by pure algal cultures or BML inoculum alone. Adding C. kessleri greatly increased the diversity of the microbial community in the BML inoculum; many known hydrocarbon and NA degraders were identified from the 16S rRNA gene sequencing from this co-culture. This more diverse microbial community could have potential for EPL remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxuan Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2W2, Canada.
| | - Korris Lee
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2W2, Canada.
| | - Ania C Ulrich
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2W2, Canada.
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40
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Zhu C, Miller M, Lusskin N, Mahlich Y, Wang Y, Zeng Z, Bromberg Y. Fingerprinting cities: differentiating subway microbiome functionality. Biol Direct 2019; 14:19. [PMID: 31666099 PMCID: PMC6822482 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-019-0252-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence suggests that the human microbiome impacts individual and public health. City subway systems are human-dense environments, where passengers often exchange microbes. The MetaSUB project participants collected samples from subway surfaces in different cities and performed metagenomic sequencing. Previous studies focused on taxonomic composition of these microbiomes and no explicit functional analysis had been done till now. RESULTS As a part of the 2018 CAMDA challenge, we functionally profiled the available ~ 400 subway metagenomes and built predictor for city origin. In cross-validation, our model reached 81% accuracy when only the top-ranked city assignment was considered and 95% accuracy if the second city was taken into account as well. Notably, this performance was only achievable if the similarity of distribution of cities in the training and testing sets was similar. To assure that our methods are applicable without such biased assumptions we balanced our training data to account for all represented cities equally well. After balancing, the performance of our method was slightly lower (76/94%, respectively, for one or two top ranked cities), but still consistently high. Here we attained an added benefit of independence of training set city representation. In testing, our unbalanced model thus reached (an over-estimated) performance of 90/97%, while our balanced model was at a more reliable 63/90% accuracy. While, by definition of our model, we were not able to predict the microbiome origins previously unseen, our balanced model correctly judged them to be NOT-from-training-cities over 80% of the time. Our function-based outlook on microbiomes also allowed us to note similarities between both regionally close and far-away cities. Curiously, we identified the depletion in mycobacterial functions as a signature of cities in New Zealand, while photosynthesis related functions fingerprinted New York, Porto and Tokyo. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated the power of our high-speed function annotation method, mi-faser, by analysing ~ 400 shotgun metagenomes in 2 days, with the results recapitulating functional signals of different city subway microbiomes. We also showed the importance of balanced data in avoiding over-estimated performance. Our results revealed similarities between both geographically close (Ofa and Ilorin) and distant (Boston and Porto, Lisbon and New York) city subway microbiomes. The photosynthesis related functional signatures of NYC were previously unseen in taxonomy studies, highlighting the strength of functional analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengsheng Zhu
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA.
| | - Maximilian Miller
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA
- Computational Biology & Bioinformatics - i12 Informatics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Boltzmannstrasse 3, 85748, Garching/Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Center of Doctoral Studies in Informatics and its Applications (CeDoSIA), Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching/Munich, Germany
| | - Nick Lusskin
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA
| | - Yannick Mahlich
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA
- Computational Biology & Bioinformatics - i12 Informatics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Boltzmannstrasse 3, 85748, Garching/Munich, Germany
- TUM Graduate School, Center of Doctoral Studies in Informatics and its Applications (CeDoSIA), Technische Universität München, 85748, Garching/Munich, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 2 a, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Yanran Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA
| | - Zishuo Zeng
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA
| | - Yana Bromberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, 08873, USA.
- Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 2 a, 85748, Garching, Germany.
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Sun X, Chu L, Mercando E, Romero I, Hollander D, Kostka JE. Dispersant Enhances Hydrocarbon Degradation and Alters the Structure of Metabolically Active Microbial Communities in Shallow Seawater From the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2387. [PMID: 31749769 PMCID: PMC6842959 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Dispersant application is a primary emergency oil spill response strategy and yet the efficacy and unintended consequences of this approach in marine ecosystems remain controversial. To address these uncertainties, ex situ incubations were conducted to quantify the impact of dispersant on petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) biodegradation rates and microbial community structure at as close as realistically possible to approximated in situ conditions [2 ppm v/v oil with or without dispersant, at a dispersant to oil ratio (DOR) of 1:15] in surface seawater. Biodegradation rates were not substantially affected by dispersant application at low mixing conditions, while under completely dispersed conditions, biodegradation was substantially enhanced, decreasing the overall half-life of total PHC compounds from 15.4 to 8.8 days. While microbial respiration and growth were not substantially altered by dispersant treatment, RNA analysis revealed that dispersant application resulted in pronounced changes to the composition of metabolically active microbial communities, and the abundance of nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes, as determined by qPCR of nitrogenase (nifH) genes, showed a large increase. While the Gammaproteobacteria were enriched in all treatments, the Betaproteobacteria and different families of Alphaproteobacteria predominated in the oil and dispersant treatment, respectively. Results show that mixing conditions regulate the efficacy of dispersant application in an oil slick, and the quantitative increase in the nitrogen-fixing microbial community indicates a selection pressure for nitrogen fixation in response to a readily biodegradable, nitrogen-poor substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxu Sun
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment Pollution Integrated Control, Guangdong Institute of Eco-Environmental Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lena Chu
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Elisa Mercando
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Isabel Romero
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
| | - David Hollander
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
| | - Joel E Kostka
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
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42
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Valencia-Agami SS, Cerqueda-García D, Putzeys S, Uribe-Flores MM, García-Cruz NU, Pech D, Herrera-Silveira J, Aguirre-Macedo ML, García-Maldonado JQ. Changes in the Bacterioplankton Community Structure from Southern Gulf of Mexico During a Simulated Crude Oil Spill at Mesocosm Scale. Microorganisms 2019; 7:microorganisms7100441. [PMID: 31614583 PMCID: PMC6843455 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7100441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGoM) is highly susceptible to receiving environmental impacts due to the recent increase in oil-related activities. In this study, we assessed the changes in the bacterioplankton community structure caused by a simulated oil spill at mesocosms scale. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis indicated that the initial bacterial community was mainly represented by Gamma-proteobacteria, Alpha-proteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Cyanobacteria. The hydrocarbon degradation activity, measured as the number of culturable hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (CHB) and by the copy number of the alkB gene, was relatively low at the beginning of the experiment. However, after four days, the hydrocarbonoclastic activity reached its maximum values and was accompanied by increases in the relative abundance of the well-known hydrocarbonoclastic Alteromonas. At the end of the experiment, the diversity was restored to similar values as those observed in the initial time, although the community structure and composition were clearly different, where Marivita, Pseudohongiella, and Oleibacter were detected to have differential abundances on days eight–14. These changes were related with total nitrogen (p value = 0.030 and r2 = 0.22) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (p value = 0.048 and r2 = 0.25), according to PERMANOVA. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the potential response of the bacterioplankton from sGoM to crude oil spills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia S Valencia-Agami
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - Daniel Cerqueda-García
- Consorcio de Investigación del Golfo de México (CIGoM)-Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - Sébastien Putzeys
- Consorcio de Investigación del Golfo de México (CIGoM)-Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - María Magdalena Uribe-Flores
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - Norberto Ulises García-Cruz
- Consorcio de Investigación del Golfo de México (CIGoM)-Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - Daniel Pech
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad Marina y Cambio Climático, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Lerma Campeche, Campeche 24500, Mexico.
| | - Jorge Herrera-Silveira
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - M Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
| | - José Q García-Maldonado
- CONACYT - Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico.
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43
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Hallmaier-Wacker LK, Lüert S, Gronow S, Spröer C, Overmann J, Buller N, Vaughan-Higgins RJ, Knauf S. A Metataxonomic Tool to Investigate the Diversity of Treponema. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2094. [PMID: 31552004 PMCID: PMC6746968 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The genus Treponema contains a number of human and animal pathogenic as well as symbiotic bacteria that are found in vastly different anatomical and environmental habitats. Our understanding of the species range, evolution, and biology of these important bacteria is still limited. To explore the diversity of treponemes, we established, validated, and tested a novel metataxonomic approach. As the informative nature of the hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene differ, we first analyzed each variable region independently. Considering the in silico results obtained, we established and validated the sequencing of the V4-region of the 16S rRNA gene using known mixtures of Treponema species as well as a selected number of clinical samples. The metataxonomic approach was able to identify Treponema to a near-species level. We demonstrate that using a spirochete-specific enrichment, our method is applicable to complex microbial communities and large variety of biological samples. The metataxonomic approach described provides a useful method to unravel the full diversity and range of Treponema in various ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa K Hallmaier-Wacker
- Neglected Tropical Diseases Work Group, Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Simone Lüert
- Neglected Tropical Diseases Work Group, Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sabine Gronow
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Cathrin Spröer
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jörg Overmann
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany.,Department of Microbiology, Braunschweig University of Technology, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Nicky Buller
- Animal Pathology - Bacteriology Laboratory, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, South Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Rebecca J Vaughan-Higgins
- Department of Conservation Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Sascha Knauf
- Neglected Tropical Diseases Work Group, Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
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44
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Metataxonomic analyses reveal differences in aquifer bacterial community as a function of creosote contamination and its potential for contaminant remediation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11731. [PMID: 31409826 PMCID: PMC6692397 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47921-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Metataxonomic approach was used to describe the bacterial community from a creosote-contaminated aquifer and to access the potential for in situ bioremediation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by biostimulation. In general, the wells with higher PAH contamination had lower richness and diversity than others, using the Shannon and Simpson indices. By the principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) it was possible to observe the clustering of the bacterial community of most wells in response of the presence of PAH contamination. The significance analysis using edgeR package of the R program showed variation in the abundance of some Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) of contaminated wells compared to uncontaminated ones. Taxons enriched in the contaminated wells were correlated positively (p < 0.05) with the hydrocarbons, according to redundancy analysis (RDA). All these enriched taxa have been characterized as PAH degrading agents, such as the genus Comamonas, Geobacter, Hydrocarboniphaga, Anaerolinea and Desulfomonile. Additionally, it was possible to predict, with the PICRUSt program, a greater proportion of pathways and genes related to the degradation of PAHs in the wells with higher contamination levels. We conclude that the contaminants promoted the enrichment of several groups of degrading bacteria in the area, which strengthens the feasibility of applying biostimulation as an aquifer remediation strategy.
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45
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Hydrocarbon-Degrading Microbial Communities Are Site Specific, and Their Activity Is Limited by Synergies in Temperature and Nutrient Availability in Surface Ocean Waters. Appl Environ Microbiol 2019; 85:AEM.00443-19. [PMID: 31126938 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00443-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to quantify the potential for hydrocarbon biodegradation in surface waters of three sites, representing geographic regions of major oil exploration (Beaufort Sea in the Arctic, northern Gulf of Mexico [GOM], and southern GOM), in a systematic experimental design that incorporated gradients in temperature and the availability of major nutrients. Surface seawater was amended in microcosms with Macondo surrogate oil to simulate an oil slick, and microcosms were incubated, with or without nutrient amendment, at temperatures ranging from 4 to 38ºC. Using respiration rate as a proxy, distinct temperature responses were observed in surface seawater microcosms based on geographic origin; biodegradation was nearly always more rapid in the Arctic site samples than in the GOM samples. Nutrient amendment enhanced respiration rates by a factor of approximately 6, stimulated microbial growth, and generally elevated the taxonomic diversity of microbial communities within the optimal temperature range for activity at each site, while diversity remained the same or was lower at temperatures deviating from optimal conditions. Taken together, our results advance the understanding of how bacterioplankton communities from different geographic regions respond to oil perturbation. A pulsed disturbance of oil is proposed to favor copiotrophic r-strategists that are adapted to pointed seasonal inputs of phytoplankton carbon, displaying carbon and nutrient limitations, rather than oil exposure history. Further understanding of the ecological mechanisms underpinning the complex environmental controls of hydrocarbon degradation is required for improvement of predictive models of the fate and transport of spilled oil in marine environments.IMPORTANCE The risk of an oil spill accident in pristine regions of the world's oceans is increasing due to the development and transport of crude oil resources, especially in the Arctic region, as a result of the opening of ice-free transportation routes, and there is currently no consensus regarding the complex interplay among the environmental controls of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation for predictive modeling. We examined the hydrocarbon biodegradation potential of bacterioplankton from three representative geographic regions of oil exploration. Our results showed that rates of aerobic respiration coupled to hydrocarbon degradation in surface ocean waters are controlled to a large extent by effects of temperature and nutrient limitation; hydrocarbon exposure history did not appear to have a major impact. Further, the relationship between temperature and biodegradation rates is linked to microbial community structure, which is specific to the geographic origin.
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46
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Zhu C, Miller M, Marpaka S, Vaysberg P, Rühlemann MC, Wu G, Heinsen FA, Tempel M, Zhao L, Lieb W, Franke A, Bromberg Y. Functional sequencing read annotation for high precision microbiome analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:e23. [PMID: 29194524 PMCID: PMC5829635 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The vast majority of microorganisms on Earth reside in often-inseparable environment-specific communities—microbiomes. Meta-genomic/-transcriptomic sequencing could reveal the otherwise inaccessible functionality of microbiomes. However, existing analytical approaches focus on attributing sequencing reads to known genes/genomes, often failing to make maximal use of available data. We created faser (functional annotation of sequencing reads), an algorithm that is optimized to map reads to molecular functions encoded by the read-correspondent genes. The mi-faser microbiome analysis pipeline, combining faser with our manually curated reference database of protein functions, accurately annotates microbiome molecular functionality. mi-faser’s minutes-per-microbiome processing speed is significantly faster than that of other methods, allowing for large scale comparisons. Microbiome function vectors can be compared between different conditions to highlight environment-specific and/or time-dependent changes in functionality. Here, we identified previously unseen oil degradation-specific functions in BP oil-spill data, as well as functional signatures of individual-specific gut microbiome responses to a dietary intervention in children with Prader–Willi syndrome. Our method also revealed variability in Crohn's Disease patient microbiomes and clearly distinguished them from those of related healthy individuals. Our analysis highlighted the microbiome role in CD pathogenicity, demonstrating enrichment of patient microbiomes in functions that promote inflammation and that help bacteria survive it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengsheng Zhu
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA
| | - Maximilian Miller
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA.,Department for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstr. 3, 85748 Garching/Munich, Germany.,TUM Graduate School, Center of Doctoral Studies in Informatics and its Applications (CeDoSIA), Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching/Munich, Germany
| | - Srinayani Marpaka
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA
| | - Pavel Vaysberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA
| | - Malte C Rühlemann
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Guojun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | | | - Marie Tempel
- Institue of Epidemiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Liping Zhao
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.,Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada
| | - Wolfgang Lieb
- Institue of Epidemiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andre Franke
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Yana Bromberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08873, USA.,Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Human Genetics Institute, Life Sciences Building, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.,Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München (TUM-IAS), Lichtenbergstrasse 2 a, D-85748 Garching, Germany
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47
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Halophilic microbial community compositional shift after a rare rainfall in the Atacama Desert. ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:2737-2749. [PMID: 31273300 PMCID: PMC6794293 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0468-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying microbial resistance and resilience to perturbations is essential to predict the impact of climate change on Earth’s ecosystems. However, the resilience and adaptation mechanisms of microbial communities to natural perturbations remain relatively unexplored, particularly in extreme environments. The response of an extremophile community inhabiting halite (salt rocks) in the Atacama Desert to a catastrophic rainfall provided the opportunity to characterize and de-convolute the temporal response of a highly specialized community to a major disturbance. With shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we investigated the halite microbiome taxonomic composition and functional potential over a 4-year longitudinal study, uncovering the dynamics of the initial response and of the recovery of the community after a rainfall event. The observed changes can be recapitulated by two general modes of community shifts—a rapid Type 1 shift and a more gradual Type 2 adjustment. In the initial response, the community entered an unstable intermediate state after stochastic niche re-colonization, resulting in broad predicted protein adaptations to increased water availability. In contrast, during recovery, the community returned to its former functional potential by a gradual shift in abundances of the newly acquired taxa. The general characterization and proposed quantitation of these two modes of community response could potentially be applied to other ecosystems, providing a theoretical framework for prediction of taxonomic and functional flux following environmental changes.
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48
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Richardson E, Dacks JB. Microbial Eukaryotes in Oil Sands Environments: Heterotrophs in the Spotlight. Microorganisms 2019; 7:microorganisms7060178. [PMID: 31248111 PMCID: PMC6617064 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7060178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrocarbon extraction and exploitation is a global, trillion-dollar industry. However, for decades it has also been known that fossil fuel usage is environmentally detrimental; the burning of hydrocarbons results in climate change, and environmental damage during extraction and transport can also occur. Substantial global efforts into mitigating this environmental disruption are underway. The global petroleum industry is moving more and more into exploiting unconventional oil reserves, such as oil sands and shale oil. The Albertan oil sands are one example of unconventional oil reserves; this mixture of sand and heavy bitumen lying under the boreal forest of Northern Alberta represent one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves, but extraction also requires the disturbance of a delicate northern ecosystem. Considerable effort is being made by various stakeholders to mitigate environmental impact and reclaim anthropogenically disturbed environments associated with oil sand extraction. In this review, we discuss the eukaryotic microbial communities associated with the boreal ecosystem and how this is affected by hydrocarbon extraction, with a particular emphasis on the reclamation of tailings ponds, where oil sands extraction waste is stored. Microbial eukaryotes, or protists, are an essential part of every global ecosystem, but our understanding of how they affect reclamation is limited due to our fledgling understanding of these organisms in anthropogenically hydrocarbon-associated environments and the difficulties of studying them. We advocate for an environmental DNA sequencing-based approach to determine the microbial communities of oil sands associated environments, and the importance of studying the heterotrophic components of these environments to gain a full understanding of how these environments operate and thus how they can be integrated with the natural watersheds of the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Richardson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
| | - Joel B Dacks
- Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G3, Canada.
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49
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Ramírez AS, Vega-Orellana OM, Viver T, Poveda JB, Rosales RS, Poveda CG, Spergser J, Szostak MP, Caballero MJ, Ressel L, Bradbury JM, Mar Tavío M, Karthikeyan S, Amann R, Konstantinidis KT, Rossello-Mora R. First description of two moderately halophilic and psychrotolerant Mycoplasma species isolated from cephalopods and proposal of Mycoplasma marinum sp. nov. and Mycoplasma todarodis sp. nov. Syst Appl Microbiol 2019; 42:457-467. [PMID: 31072660 DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2019.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Two moderately halophilic and psychrotolerant new Mycoplasma species were isolated from common cephalopods. Three strains were isolated in pure culture from two individual European flying squid (Todarodes sagittatus), and two individual octopuses (Octopus vulgaris). The strains showed optimal growth at 25 °C and a salinity of 3% (w/v) NaCl. Molecular analyses revealed that the isolates belonged to two new, but phylogenetically related species, divergent from all previously described Mollicutes, representing the first marine isolates of the class, and also the first Mycoplasma strains for which NaCl requirement has been demonstrated. A genome search against all available marine metagenomes and 16S rRNA gene databases indicated that these two species represent a novel non-free-living marine lineage of Mollicutes, specifically associated with marine animals. Morphology and physiology were compatible with other members of this group, and genomic and phenotypic analyses demonstrated that these organisms represent two novel species of the genus Mycoplasma, for which the names Mycoplasma marinum sp. nov. and Mycoplasma todarodis sp. nov. are proposed; the type strains are PET (DSM 105487T, CIP 111404T) and 5HT (DSM 105,488T, CIP 111405T), respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana S Ramírez
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Orestes M Vega-Orellana
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Tomeu Viver
- Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Animal and Microbial Biodiversity, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), 07190, Esporles, Spain
| | - José B Poveda
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain.
| | - Rubén S Rosales
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Carlos G Poveda
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Joachim Spergser
- Institute of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael P Szostak
- Institute of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mª José Caballero
- Unidad de Histología y Patología Animal, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Ressel
- University of Liverpool, Institute of Veterinary Science, Leahurst Campus, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
| | - Janet M Bradbury
- University of Liverpool, Institute of Veterinary Science, Leahurst Campus, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
| | - Mª Mar Tavío
- Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, IUSA, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35413, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Smruthi Karthikeyan
- School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Rudolf Amann
- Department of Molecular Ecology, Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen D-28359, Germany
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ramon Rossello-Mora
- Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Animal and Microbial Biodiversity, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), 07190, Esporles, Spain
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50
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"Candidatus Macondimonas diazotrophica", a novel gammaproteobacterial genus dominating crude-oil-contaminated coastal sediments. ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:2129-2134. [PMID: 30952995 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0400-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Revised: 03/02/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Modeling crude-oil biodegradation in sediments remains a challenge due in part to the lack of appropriate model organisms. Here we report the metagenome-guided isolation of a novel organism that represents a phylogenetically narrow (>97% 16S rRNA gene identity) group of previously uncharacterized, crude-oil degraders. Analysis of available sequence data showed that these organisms are highly abundant in oiled sediments of coastal marine ecosystems across the world, often comprising ~30% of the total community, and virtually absent in pristine sediments or seawater. The isolate genome encodes functional nitrogen fixation and hydrocarbon degradation genes together with putative genes for biosurfactant production that apparently facilitate growth in the typically nitrogen-limited, oiled environment. Comparisons to available genomes revealed that this isolate represents a novel genus within the Gammaproteobacteria, for which we propose the provisional name "Candidatus Macondimonas diazotrophica" gen. nov., sp. nov. "Ca. M. diazotrophica" appears to play a key ecological role in the response to oil spills around the globe and could be a promising model organism for studying ecophysiological responses to oil spills.
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