Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Rates:  A Structure-Based Study

Wammer, Kristine H.; Peters, Catherine A.

doi:10.1021/es048939y

Cited by 118 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(49 reference statements)

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“…Hydrocarbon molecular mass and structure typically influence biodegradation rates, with progressively slower degradation with increasing molecular mass, ring number, and alkyl branching (32,34,(41)(42)(43)(44). We tested the validity of these relationships for the seafloor by comparing the residual fraction for each hydrocarbon remaining in the sediment 4 y after the spill began.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence and biodegradation of oil at the ocean floor following Deepwater Horizon

Bagby

Reddy

Aeppli

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster introduced an unprecedented discharge of oil into the deep Gulf of Mexico. Considerable uncertainty has persisted regarding the oil’s fate and effects in the deep ocean. In this work we assess the compound-specific rates of biodegradation for 125 aliphatic, aromatic, and biomarker petroleum hydrocarbons that settled to the deep ocean floor following release from the damaged Macondo Well. Based on a dataset comprising measurements of up to 168 distinct hydrocarbon analytes in 2,980 sediment samples collected within 4 y of the spill, we develop a Macondo oil “fingerprint” and conservatively identify a subset of 312 surficial samples consistent with contamination by Macondo oil. Three trends emerge from analysis of the biodegradation rates of 125 individual hydrocarbons in these samples. First, molecular structure served to modulate biodegradation in a predictable fashion, with the simplest structures subject to fastest loss, indicating that biodegradation in the deep ocean progresses similarly to other environments. Second, for many alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons biodegradation occurred in two distinct phases, consistent with rapid loss while oil particles remained suspended followed by slow loss after deposition to the seafloor. Third, the extent of biodegradation for any given sample was influenced by the hydrocarbon content, leading to substantially greater hydrocarbon persistence among the more highly contaminated samples. In addition, under some conditions we find strong evidence for extensive degradation of numerous petroleum biomarkers, notably including the native internal standard 17α(H),21β(H)-hopane, commonly used to calculate the extent of oil weathering.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence and biodegradation of oil at the ocean floor following Deepwater Horizon

Bagby

Reddy

Aeppli

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…A study using a mixed enrichment culture and below aqueous solubility concentrations 10 reported first-order biodegradation rate constants for phenanthrene of 2.70 × 10 . These were similar for both PAHs (as found in this study) but (10 6 cells) −1 for fluoranthene.…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Passive Dosing for Studying the Biotransformation of Hydrophobic Organic Chemicals: Microbial Degradation as an Example

Smith

Rein

Trapp

et al. 2012

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Biotransformation plays a key role in hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) fate, and understanding kinetics as a function of (bio)availability is critical for elucidating persistence, accumulation, and toxicity. Biotransformation mainly occurs in an aqueous environment, posing technical challenges for producing kinetic data because of low HOC solubilities and sorptive losses. To overcome these, a new experimental approach based on passive dosing is presented. This avoids using cosolvent for introducing the HOC substrate, buffers substrate depletion so biotransformation is measured within a narrow and defined dissolved concentration range, and enables high compound turnover even at low concentrations to simplify end point measurement. As a case study, the biodegradation kinetics of two model HOCs by the bacterium Sphingomonas paucimobilis EPA505 were measured at defined dissolved concentrations ranging over 4 orders of magnitude, from 0.017 to 658 μg L −1 for phenanthrene and from 0.006 to 90.0 μg L −1 for fluoranthene. Both compounds had similar mineralization fluxes, and these increased by 2 orders of magnitude with increasing dissolved concentrations. First-order mineralization rate constants were also similar for both PAHs, but decreased by around 2 orders of magnitude with increasing dissolved concentrations. Dynamic passive dosing is a useful tool for measuring biotransformation kinetics at realistically low and defined dissolved HOC concentrations.

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“…The ability of L. anuloederans and Mycobacterium spp. to degrade fluorene and pyrene, which are considered especially recalcitrant fuel components (63), might explain the high abundance of this bacteria in heavy fuel devoid of the most easily biodegradable fractions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Bacterial Communities from Shoreline Environments (Costa da Morte, Northwestern Spain) Affected by the Prestige Oil Spill

Alonso-Gutierrez

Figueras

Albaigés

et al. 2009

Appl Environ Microbiol

131

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The bacterial communities in two different shoreline matrices, rocks and sand, from the Costa da Morte, northwestern Spain, were investigated 12 months after being affected by the Prestige oil spill. Culture-based and culture-independent approaches were used to compare the bacterial diversity present in these environments with that at a nonoiled site. A long-term effect of fuel on the microbial communities in the oiled sand and rock was suggested by the higher proportion of alkane and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degraders and the differences in denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis patterns compared with those of the reference site. Members of the classes Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the prevailing groups of bacteria detected in both matrices, although the sand bacterial community exhibited higher species richness than the rock bacterial community did. Culture-dependent and -independent approaches suggested that the genus Rhodococcus could play a key role in the in situ degradation of the alkane fraction of the Prestige fuel together with other members of the suborder Corynebacterineae. Moreover, other members of this suborder, such as Mycobacterium spp., together with Sphingomonadaceae bacteria (mainly Lutibacterium anuloederans), were related as well to the degradation of the aromatic fraction of the Prestige fuel. The multiapproach methodology applied in the present study allowed us to assess the complexity of autochthonous microbial communities related to the degradation of heavy fuel from the Prestige and to isolate some of their components for a further physiological study. Since several Corynebacterineae members related to the degradation of alkanes and PAHs were frequently detected in this and other supralittoral environments affected by the Prestige oil spill along the northwestern Spanish coast, the addition of mycolic acids to bioremediation amendments is proposed to favor the presence of these degraders in long-term fuel pollution-affected areas with similar characteristics.

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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Rates: A Structure-Based Study

Cited by 118 publications

References 45 publications

Persistence and biodegradation of oil at the ocean floor following Deepwater Horizon

Persistence and biodegradation of oil at the ocean floor following Deepwater Horizon

Dynamic Passive Dosing for Studying the Biotransformation of Hydrophobic Organic Chemicals: Microbial Degradation as an Example

Bacterial Communities from Shoreline Environments (Costa da Morte, Northwestern Spain) Affected by the Prestige Oil Spill

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