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. 2010 Oct 8;330(6001):204-8.
doi: 10.1126/science.1195979. Epub 2010 Aug 24.

Deep-sea oil plume enriches indigenous oil-degrading bacteria

Terry C Hazen  1 , Eric A Dubinsky, Todd Z DeSantis, Gary L Andersen, Yvette M Piceno, Navjeet Singh, Janet K Jansson, Alexander Probst, Sharon E Borglin, Julian L Fortney, William T Stringfellow, Markus Bill, Mark E Conrad, Lauren M Tom, Krystle L Chavarria, Thana R Alusi, Regina Lamendella, Dominique C Joyner, Chelsea Spier, Jacob Baelum, Manfred Auer, Marcin L Zemla, Romy Chakraborty, Eric L Sonnenthal, Patrik D'haeseleer, Hoi-Ying N Holman, Shariff Osman, Zhenmei Lu, Joy D Van Nostrand, Ye Deng, Jizhong Zhou, Olivia U Mason
Affiliations

Deep-sea oil plume enriches indigenous oil-degrading bacteria

Terry C Hazen et al. Science. .

Abstract

The biological effects and expected fate of the vast amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon blowout are unknown owing to the depth and magnitude of this event. Here, we report that the dispersed hydrocarbon plume stimulated deep-sea indigenous γ-Proteobacteria that are closely related to known petroleum degraders. Hydrocarbon-degrading genes coincided with the concentration of various oil contaminants. Changes in hydrocarbon composition with distance from the source and incubation experiments with environmental isolates demonstrated faster-than-expected hydrocarbon biodegradation rates at 5°C. Based on these results, the potential exists for intrinsic bioremediation of the oil plume in the deep-water column without substantial oxygen drawdown.

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