Role of methylotrophs in the degradation of hydrocarbons during the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill |
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Authors: | Tony Gutierrez Michael D Aitken |
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Institution: | 1.School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt
University, Edinburgh, UK;2.Department of Environmental Sciences and
Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA |
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Abstract: | The role of methylotrophic bacteria in the fate of the oil and gas released into the
Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been controversial,
particularly in relation to whether organisms such as Methylophaga had
contributed to the consumption of methane. Whereas methanotrophy remains unqualified
in these organisms, recent work by our group using DNA-based stable-isotope probing
coupled with cultivation-based methods has uncovered hydrocarbon-degrading
Methylophaga. Recent findings have also shown that methylotrophs,
including Methylophaga, were in a heightened state of metabolic activity
within oil plume waters during the active phase of the spill. Taken collectively,
these findings suggest that members of this group may have participated in the
degradation of high-molecular-weight hydrocarbons in plume waters. The discovery of
hydrocarbon-degrading Methylophaga also highlights the importance of
considering these organisms in playing a role to the fate of oil hydrocarbons at
oil-impacted sites. |
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Keywords: | Deepwater Horizon Methylophaga degradation Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbons marine environment |
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