Hydrocarbon-oxidizing microflora from the water of the Baltic sea and Kurshsky bay polluted after a fuel oil spill

Microbiological studies were conducted in the water of the Baltic sea and the Kurshsky bay polluted with mazut as the result of a tanker wreck in November 1981 as well as in the water of nonpolluted regions. Within the summer of 1982 and 1983, 755 bacterial strains were isolated from water samples taken at three different depths. Bacteria belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus + Mycobacterium and Arthrobacter predominated in the hydrocarbon-oxidizing cenoses of the Baltic sea and the Kurshsky bay. The central part of the Baltic sea pure from mazut did not differ from the polluted regions in the qualitative composition of the hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacterial flora. Rhodococci and mycobacteria prevailed in the water near harbours, and pseudomonades, in the open waters. The greatest variety of species was found at a depth of 1 m. The proportion between the predominating genera of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria was not stable. The state of studies conducted with the hydrocarbon-oxidizing microflora is analysed and the factors causing discrepancies are discussed. One must keep in mind that it is necessary to use a strictly elective medium and to examine cultures with a microscope many times throughout their growth in the isolation and identification of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria. The interrelationship is analysed between the predominant genera of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria.     

Study of the stability association of oil-degrading microorganisms in an open system

Investigation of the stability of an association of active hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms grown on diesel fuel showed that not all members of the association were competitive in an open flow system. The abundance of some strains considerably decreased during cultivation. One of the strain groups had consistently high cell titers, both in the medium and on a support. This prompts the authors to use these strains as degraders of diesel fuel.     

Comparative characterization of microbial communities in two regions of natural oil seepage in Lake Baikal

Microbial communities and hydrocarbon contents have been studied in two regions of natural oil seepage in Lake Baikal: (1) opposite the Bol’shaya Zelenovskaya River mouth (studied previously) and (2) near Cape Gorevoi Utes (discovered in 2005). The abundance of both heterotrophic and hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms is significantly higher in water samples from the first region, where the oil is biologically degraded. In the surface soil layer at stations located in the immediate vicinity of oil seepage site, the abundance of n-alkane-oxidizing microorganisms reaches 2000 cells/ml, and that of oil-oxidizing microorganisms reaches 2600 cells/ml. In water samples from near Cape Gorevoi Utes, the abundance of these groups of microorganisms does not exceed 190 and 500 cells/ml, respectively.     

Marine Siderophores and Microbial Iron Mobilization

Iron is essential for the growth of nearly all microorganisms yet iron is only sparingly soluble near the neutral pH, aerobic conditions in which many microorganisms grow. The pH of ocean water is even higher, thereby further lowering the concentration of dissolved ferric ion. To compound the problem of availability, the total iron concentration is surprisingly low in surface ocean water, yet nevertheless, marine microorganisms still require iron for growth. Like terrestrial bacterial, bacteria isolated from open ocean water often produce siderophores, which are low molecular weight chelating ligands that facilitate the microbial acquisition of iron. The present review summarizes the structures of siderophores produced by marine bacteria and the emerging characteristics that distinguish marine siderophores.     

Microbial potential for cleaning the oiled iron scale

The possibility of using microorganisms to clean oiled iron scale of metallurgical production was investigated with the goal of recuperation. A stable microbial association growing on mineral oil as the sole carbon source was isolated from a sample from oiled iron scale taken directly from a metallurgical plant. For microbial cultures isolated from this association, the taxonomic position, as well as their morphological and cultural characteristics, were determined. The microorganisms belonged to the genera Luteimonas, Alcanivorax, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. Microbial associations oxidizing mineral oil were found to contain some microorganisms incapable of its utilization, which stimulated the hydrocarbon-oxidizing microflora. Application of the isolates, as well as of the strains from microbial collections, resulted in a 58% decrease in residual oil content in treated samples of the oiled iron scale.     

Investigation of the Stability of an Association of Oil-Degrading Microorganisms in an Open System

Studies of the stability of an association of active hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms grown on diesel fuel showed that not all members of the association were competitive in an open-flow system. The abundance of some strains considerably decreased during cultivation. One of the strain groups had consistently high cell titers both in the medium and on a support. This prompts the use these strains as degraders of diesel fuel.     

Variability of Coastal and Ocean Water Temperature in the Upper 700 m along the Western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006

Temperature is observed to have different trends at coastal and ocean locations along the western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006, which corresponds to the last warming period in the area under study. The analysis was carried out by means of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). Reanalysis data are available at monthly scale with a horizontal resolution of 0.5°×0.5° and a vertical resolution of 40 levels, which allows obtaining information beneath the sea surface. Only the first 21 vertical levels (from 5.0 m to 729.35 m) were considered here, since the most important changes in heat content observed for the world ocean during the last decades, correspond to the upper 700 m. Warming was observed to be considerably higher at ocean locations than at coastal ones. Ocean warming ranged from values on the order of 0.3°C dec⁻¹ near surface to less than 0.1°C dec⁻¹ at 500 m, while coastal warming showed values close to 0.2°C dec⁻¹ near surface, decreasing rapidly below 0.1°C dec⁻¹ for depths on the order of 50 m. The heat content anomaly for the upper 700 m, showed a sharp increase from coast (0.46 Wm⁻²) to ocean (1.59 Wm⁻²). The difference between coastal and ocean values was related to the presence of coastal upwelling, which partially inhibits the warming from surface of near shore water.     

Microorganisms of the Upper Atmosphere: IV. Microorganisms of a Land Air Mass as It Traverses an Ocean

The viable micropopulation at three altitudes (152, 1,066, and 1,981 meters) of a land air mass as it traversed an ocean was determined. At the low altitude, a consistent pattern of decrease in numbers of land-originating microorganisms with increasing distance from shore was observed. At the higher altitudes, the observed pattern was one of irregularity. At the lower altitude the percentages of bacteria and fungi were approximately equal near the coast, but as distance from the coast increased, fungi predominated over the bacteria at all sampling locations. The greatest number of different genera of both bacteria and fungi were obtained at or near the coast. Fungi of the genera Alternaria, Hormodendron, Penicillium, and Aspergillus, and bacteria of the genera Micrococcus and Bacterium predominated at all altitudes and locations.     

Effect of photosynthetic bacteria and compost on degradation of petroleum products in soil

Addition of diesel fuel and waste engine oil to soil was found to cause biostimulation of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Corynebacteria constitute a large group of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Addition of a liquid culture of photosynthetic bacteria to soil not only facilitates degradation of petroleum products, but also stimulates growth of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Combined addition of photosynthetic bacteria and compost to soil polluted with petroleum products causes even a more significant increase in the count of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria and substantially increases the rate of pollutant degradation.     

Effect of Photosynthetic Bacteria and Compost on Degradation of Petroleum Products in Soil

Addition of diesel fuel and waste engine oil to soil was found to stimulate hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Corynebacteria constitute a large group of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Addition of a liquid culture of photosynthetic bacteria to soil facilitates degradation of petroleum products and also stimulates growth of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms. Combined addition of photosynthetic bacteria and compost to soil polluted with petroleum products produces a greater increase in the number of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria and substantially augments the rate of pollutant degradation.     

Early microhabitat use by age 0 year brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis in lakes

The early habitat use of age 0 year brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis in three north temperate lakes which differ in terms of shoreline physical habitat is described. In the two lakes, which contained abundant shoreline woody debris and inundated vegetation, brook charr were observed in extremely close proximity with these habitat features, near shore and near the surface. Fish were absent from open areas away from shore unless in close proximity with fallen floating logs near the surface, extending offshore. In a third lake that had no woody debris or inundated shoreline vegetation, brook charr were observed exclusively in close proximity with the shoreline itself, and near the surface. In all three lakes, fish were most closely associated with the shoreline and with woody debris and inundated vegetation (when present) shortly after emergence, and significantly farther from shore and deeper in the water column thereafter.     

Optimization of the purification of soil and water objects from oil using biosorbents

Oil biosorbents (patents 2299181, 2318736) were obtained using immobilization of oil-oxidizing microorganisms into the hydrophobic sorbent Sorbonaft, which is manufactured using special technology at the Press-Torf Company. Two associations of aboriginal hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms were used for this purpose: a fungal association and a bacterial and yeast association. The application of biosorbents resulted in a substantial acceleration of the process of purification from oil. The decrease in the amount of oil in the water and soil during 1 month was 30–44% in the variants with the products, against 5% in the control.     

Why no red tide was observed on the West Florida Continental Shelf in 2010

Over the past two decades, the two most anomalous years for water properties on the west Florida continental shelf were 1998 and 2010. In both instances, the shelf was ventilated by relatively cold, nutrient-rich waters of deep ocean origin, which reset the background state underlying shelf ecology. The ventilation in both of these years derived from prolonged interactions of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current with the shelf slope near the Dry Tortugas located on the southwest corner of the shelf. By contacting relatively shallow isobaths, the boundary current interactions there set the entire shelf into motion, facilitating upwelling across the shelf break, even to DeSoto Canyon some 500 km away, and then across the shelf to the near shore. Such prolonged and intense upwelling of nutrient-rich water in 2010 contrasted with the more typically occurring locally wind driven upwelling conditions, whereby waters upwelled at the near shore are from the inner shelf, versus the deep ocean. Thus not all upwelling scenarios have similar consequences. Whereas the typical wind driven upwelling scenario is necessary for Karenia brevis red tide blooms to manifest along the coastline, the rarer, deep ocean induced upwelling scenario (as occurred in 1998 and particularly in 2010) acts to suppress K. brevis red tides because of the elevated inorganic nutrient conditions that they facilitate. Hence, minimal cell counts above background were observed in 1998, and no cell counts above background were observed in 2010. We conclude that the lack of red tide along the west coast of Florida in 2010 was due to anomalously large and protracted upwelling of nutrient-rich waters of deep ocean origin caused by Loop Current and eddy interactions with the shelf slope.     

Distribution of microorganisms lysing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in reservoirs and soil

Various natural habitats were found to contain microorganisms producing lytic spots around their own colonies when grown on a lawn of viable Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells at 29 and 45 degrees C. The incidence of such microorganisms in water and soil was studied in quantitative terms. Contaminated waters with predominating Gram-negative heterotrophs and a high number of pseudomonades were shown to be an optimal source for the isolation of microorganisms causing the lysis of P. aeruginosa growing at 29 degrees C. Microorganisms responsible for the lysis of P. aeruginosa at 45 degrees C are abundant in the soil of mixed and foliage forests.     

Lipid and DNA Evidence of Dominance of Planktonic Archaea Preserved in Sediments of the South China Sea: Insight for Application of the TEX86 Proxy in an Unstable Marine Sediment Environment

The marine planktonic archaea are dominated by Thaumarchaeotal Marine Group I, which is characterized by the lipid biomarker thaumarchaeol. The marine benthic archaea are characterized by greater diversity of currently unknown species whose lipid biomarker signatures are uncertain. In this study, a sediment core from the northwestern part of the South China Sea (SCS) (water depth 1474 m) was analyzed using molecular DNA and lipid biomarker approaches. While 16S rRNA gene analysis showed changing archaeal community structures with sediment depth, this change had little impact on the fossil record of archaeal lipids that are characteristic of the planktonic community. As a result, the fossil archaeal lipids recorded paleo sea surface temperature of the SCS since the last glacial maxima by the TEX₈₆ proxy, which agreed generally with the winter temperature recorded by planktonic foraminiferas collected from the same area of the SCS that hosted mass-transported deposits. This suggests that this deep water deposit may have partially preserved paleoclimate record reflecting seasonal temperature variation in a near shore setting, which is in contrast to annual sea surface temperature or sub sea surface temperature variation recorded by TEX₈₆ in the open ocean.     

Soybean oil-degrading bacterial cultures as a potential for control of green peach aphids (Myzus persicae)

Microorganisms capable of degrading crude oil were isolated and grown in soybean oil as a sole carbon source. The microbial cultures were used to control green peach aphids in vitro. Approximately 60% mortality of aphids was observed when the cultures were applied alone onto aphids. To examine the cultures as a pesticide formulation mixture, the cultures were combined with a low dose of the insecticide imidacloprid (one-fourth dose of recommended field-application rate) and applied onto aphids. The cultures enhanced significantly the insecticidal effectiveness of imidacloprid, which was higher than imidacloprid alone applied at the low dose. The isolated microorganisms exhibited high emulsifying index values and decreased surface tension values after being grown in soybean oil media. GC/MS analyses showed that microorganisms degraded soybean oil to fatty acids. The cultures were suggested to play the roles of wetting, spreading, and sticking agents to improve the effectiveness of imidacloprid. This is the first report on the control of aphids by using oil-degrading microbial cultures.     

Effect of Butyric Acid on the Physiological Activity of Hydrocarbon-Oxidizing Rhodococci

Laboratory experiments showed that butyric acid not only fails to meet the trophic requirements of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms, but even specifically inhibits their assimilatory and dissimilatory activity. Therefore, butyric acid can be referred to as growth inhibitors. The combined mineralization of carbohydrates and hydrocarbons can be described as follows. Plants polymers are converted to monosugars by heterotrophic soil microorganisms. As the concentration of the monosugars grows and oxygen becomes deficient, the monosugars are no longer oxidized completely but are fermented. As a result, glucose transforms to butyric acid, which inhibits hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria. It is concluded that, to be efficient, the cleanup of oil-contaminated soils must include measures to intensify the mineralization of carbohydrates and to inhibit their fermentation.     

Effects of culture conditions and biofilm formation on the iodine susceptibility of Legionella pneumophila.

The susceptibility of Legionella pneumophila to iodination was studied with cultures grown in well water, on rich agar media, and attached to stainless-steel surfaces. Legionella pneumophila grown in water cultures in association with other microorganisms were less sensitive to disinfection by chlorine and iodine than were agar-passaged cultures. Differences in sensitivity to disinfection between water-cultured and agar-grown legionellae were determined by comparing C x T values (concentration in milligrams per litre multiplied by time in minutes to achieve 99% decrease in viability) and CM x T values (concentration in molarity). Iodine (1500x) gave a greater difference in CM x T values than did chlorine (68x). Iodine was 50 times more effective than chlorine when used with agar-grown cultures but was only twice as effective when tested against water-grown Legionella cultures. C x T x S values (C x T multiplied by percent survivors), which take into consideration the percent surviving bacteria, were used to compare sensitivities in very resistant populations, such as those in biofilms. Water cultures of legionellae associated with stainless-steel surfaces were 135 times more resistant to iodination than were unattached legionellae, and they were 210,000 times more resistant than were agar-grown cultures. These results indicate that the conditions under which legionellae are grown can dramatically affect their susceptibility to some disinfectants and must be considered when evaluating the efficacy of a disinfecting agent.     

A preliminary study of anaerobic thiosulfate‐oxidizing bacteria as denitrifiers in the Arabian Sea

Bacteria which oxidize thiosulfate and reduce nitrate (TONRB) and bacteria which oxidize thiosulfate and denitrify (TODB) sampled at 5‐, 100‐, 200‐ and 300‐m depths were enumerated in agar shake cultures by colony counting and by applying MPN technique, respectively. Lithotrophic denitrification was generally high at the surface but did not vary much with the distance from shore as indicated by the number of TODB. The number of TONRB shows that nitrate‐reduction was much higher at near‐shore stations. The low TODBITONRB ratios at intermediate depths and at 100 m show in particular that the relative abundance of these organisms could be one of the possible reasons for higher nitrite concentrations sometimes reported at these depths. Thiosulfate‐oxidizing and simultaneous nitrate‐reducing abilities of the isolates indicated that the strains isolated from near shore and surface waters were more active nitrate reducers than their counterparts in offshore or deeper waters. The growth yield values of these organisms ranged from 1.1 to 17.9 mg protein mmol^‐1 thiosulfate and from 11.7 to 36.3 mg protein mmol^‐1 sulfide and suggest that they could contribute to chemosynthetic production.