Bôto Maria L, Magalhães Catarina, Perdigão Rafaela, Alexandrino Diogo A M, Fernandes Joana P, Bernabeu Ana M, Ramos Sandra, Carvalho Maria F, Semedo Miguel, LaRoche Julie, Almeida C Marisa R, Mucha Ana P
Bioremediation and Ecosystems Functioning (EcoBioTec), CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Front Microbiol. 2021 Apr 23;12:633659. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.633659. eCollection 2021.
Oil spills are among the most catastrophic events to marine ecosystems and current remediation techniques are not suitable for ecological restoration. Bioremediation approaches can take advantage of the activity of microorganisms with biodegradation capacity thus helping to accelerate the recovery of contaminated environments. The use of native microorganisms can increase the bioremediation efficiency since they have higher potential to survive in the natural environment while preventing unpredictable ecological impacts associated with the introduction of non-native organisms. In order to know the geographical scale to which a native bioremediation consortium can be applied, we need to understand the spatial heterogeneity of the natural microbial communities with potential for hydrocarbon degradation. In the present study, we aim to describe the genetic diversity and the potential of native microbial communities to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, at an early stage of bioremediation, along the NW Iberian Peninsula coast, an area particularly susceptible to oil spills. Seawater samples collected in 47 sites were exposed to crude oil for 2 weeks, in enrichment experiments. Seawater samples collected , and samples collected after the enrichment with crude oil, were characterized for prokaryotic communities by using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and predictive functional profiling. Results showed a drastic decrease in richness and diversity of microbial communities after the enrichment with crude oil. Enriched microbial communities were mainly dominated by genera known to degrade hydrocarbons, namely , , , , , , , and , without significant differences between geographic areas and locations. Predictive functional profiling of the enriched microbial consortia showed a high potential to degrade the aromatic compounds aminobenzoate, benzoate, chlorocyclohexane, chlorobenzene, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic compounds, styrene, toluene, and xylene. Only a few genera contributed for more than 50% of this genetic potential for aromatic compounds degradation in the enriched communities, namely , , and spp. This work is a starting point for the future development of prototype consortia of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria to mitigate oil spills in the Iberian NW coast.
石油泄漏是对海洋生态系统最具灾难性的事件之一，而目前的修复技术并不适用于生态恢复。生物修复方法可以利用具有生物降解能力的微生物的活性，从而有助于加速受污染环境的恢复。使用本地微生物可以提高生物修复效率，因为它们在自然环境中具有更高的生存潜力，同时可以防止与引入非本地生物相关的不可预测的生态影响。为了了解本地生物修复菌群可以应用的地理范围，我们需要了解具有烃类降解潜力的自然微生物群落的空间异质性。在本研究中，我们旨在描述在生物修复早期，沿着伊比利亚半岛西北部海岸（一个特别容易发生石油泄漏的地区），本地微生物群落的遗传多样性和降解石油烃的潜力。在富集实验中，从47个地点采集的海水样本暴露于原油中2周。通过16S rRNA基因扩增子测序和预测功能分析，对采集的海水样本以及用原油富集后的样本进行原核生物群落特征分析。结果表明，用原油富集后，微生物群落的丰富度和多样性急剧下降。富集的微生物群落主要由已知可降解烃类的属主导，即 、 、 、 、 、 、 和 ，不同地理区域和地点之间没有显著差异。对富集的微生物菌群进行预测功能分析表明，其具有降解芳香族化合物氨基苯甲酸、苯甲酸、氯环己烷、氯苯、乙苯、萘、多环芳烃、苯乙烯、甲苯和二甲苯的高潜力。在富集群落中，只有少数几个属对这种芳香族化合物降解的遗传潜力贡献超过50%，即 、 和 spp。这项工作是未来开发烃类降解细菌原型菌群以减轻伊比利亚西北部海岸石油泄漏的起点。
