Influence of crude oil on changes of bacterial communities in Arctic sea-ice

• Published in: FEMS microbiology ecology 2005-06, Vol.53 (1), p.129-139
• Main Authors: Gerdes, Birte, Brinkmeyer, Robin, Dieckmann, Gerhard, Helmke, Elisabeth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkanes; Arctic Regions; Arctic zone; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Base Sequence; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon Radioisotopes; Community composition; Composition; Crude oil; Cultivation; Degradation; DNA Primers; Ecology; Ecosystem; Electrophoresis; Environmental impact; Exploration; Fluorescence; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gammaproteobacteria - drug effects; Gammaproteobacteria - metabolism; Gammaproteobacteria - physiology; Gel electrophoresis; Hexadecane; Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria; Hydrocarbons; Ice; Ice cover; Ice Cover - microbiology; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Likelihood Functions; Low temperature; Marine; Marinobacter; Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus; Microbiology; Microcosms; Microorganisms; Miscellaneous; Models, Genetic; Molecular Sequence Data; Oil and gas exploration; Oil degradation; Oil exploration; Oil spills; Petroleum - metabolism; Petroleum - toxicity; Petroleum hydrocarbons; Phylogeny; Pseudomonas; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Sea ice; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Shewanella; Species Specificity; Spillage; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 0168-6496; 1574-6941
• DOI: 10.1016/j.femsec.2004.11.010

The danger of a petroleum hydrocarbon spillage in the polar, ice-covered regions is increasing due to oil exploration in Arctic offshore areas and a growing interest in using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative transportation route for Arctic oil and gas. However, little is known about the potential impact of accidental oil spills on this environment. We investigated the impact of crude oil on microbial community composition in six different Arctic sea-ice samples incubated with crude oil at 1 °C in microcosms for one year. Alterations in the composition of bacterial communities were analyzed with the culture-independent molecular methods DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization). DGGE, FISH and cultivation methods revealed a strong shift in community composition toward the γ-proteobacteria in sea-ice and melt pool samples incubated with crude oil. Marinobacter spp., Shewanella spp. and Pseudomonas spp. were the predominant phylotypes in the oil-treated microcosms. The ability of indigenous sea-ice bacteria to degrade hydrocarbons at low temperature (1 °C) was tested using four representative strains cultivated from sea-ice enriched with crude oil. [ 14C]Hexadecane was degraded by the sea-ice isolates at 20–50% capacity of the mesophilic type strain Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, a known hydrocarbon degrader, incubated at 22 °C.