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Response of the bacterial community associated with a cosmopolitan marine diatom to crude oil shows a preference for the biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons
Author(s) -
Mishamandani Sara,
Gutierrez Tony,
Berry David,
Aitken Michael D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12988
Subject(s) - diatom , biology , marine snow , biodegradation , phytoplankton , pyrosequencing , psychrophile , environmental chemistry , microbial ecology , bacteria , microbial population biology , ecology , biotope , gene , chemistry , habitat , biochemistry , genetics , water column , nutrient
Summary Emerging evidence shows that hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria ( HCB ) may be commonly found associated with phytoplankton in the ocean, but the ecology of these bacteria and how they respond to crude oil remains poorly understood. Here, we used a natural diatom‐bacterial assemblage to investigate the diversity and response of HCB associated with a cosmopolitan marine diatom, S keletonema costatum , to crude oil. Pyrosequencing analysis and q PCR revealed a dramatic transition in the diatom‐associated bacterial community, defined initially by a short‐lived bloom of M ethylophaga (putative oil degraders) that was subsequently succeeded by distinct groups of HCB ( M arinobacter , P olycyclovorans , A renibacter , P arvibaculum , R oseobacter clade), including putative novel phyla, as well as other groups with previously unqualified oil‐degrading potential. Interestingly, these oil‐enriched organisms contributed to the apparent and exclusive biodegradation of substituted and non‐substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAHs ), thereby suggesting that the HCB community associated with the diatom is tuned to specializing in the degradation of PAHs . Furthermore, the formation of marine oil snow ( MOS ) in oil‐amended incubations was consistent with its formation during the D eepwater H orizon oil spill. This work highlights the phycosphere of phytoplankton as an underexplored biotope in the ocean where HCB may contribute importantly to the biodegradation of hydrocarbon contaminants in marine surface waters.