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dc.contributor.authorSuja, Laura Duran
dc.contributor.authorChen, Xindi
dc.contributor.authorSummers, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorPaterson, David M.
dc.contributor.authorGutierrez, Tony
dc.date.accessioned2019-03-26T13:30:06Z
dc.date.available2019-03-26T13:30:06Z
dc.date.issued2019-03-20
dc.identifier258320672
dc.identifiera67f04b8-d400-418b-9c3e-a026ed7a9643
dc.identifier85066429235
dc.identifier000461808300001
dc.identifier.citationSuja , L D , Chen , X , Summers , S , Paterson , D M & Gutierrez , T 2019 , ' Chemical dispersant enhances microbial exopolymer (EPS) production and formation of marine oil/dispersant snow in surface waters of the subarctic northeast Atlantic ' , Frontiers in Microbiology , vol. 10 , 553 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553en
dc.identifier.issn1664-302X
dc.identifier.otherRIS: urn:9362700026ACB78982B903D67B3B48AC
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0003-1174-6476/work/55901216
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/17375
dc.descriptionThis manuscript contains work conducted during a Ph.D. study undertaken as part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Oil and Gas. It is sponsored by Heriot-Watt University via their James Watt Scholarship Scheme to LS and whose support is gratefully acknowledged. Partial support was also provided through a Royal Society Research Grant (RG140180) and a Society for Applied Microbiology grant to TG. DP received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) and their support is gratefully acknowledged.en
dc.description.abstractA notable feature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the unprecedented formation of marine oil snow (MOS) that was observed in large quantities floating on the sea surface and that subsequently sedimented to the seafloor. Whilst the physical and chemical processes involved in MOS formation remain unclear, some studies have shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play a role in this process. Here, we report that during exposure of subarctic northeast Atlantic seawater to a chemical dispersant, whether in the presence/absence of crude oil, the dispersant stimulates the production of significant quantities of EPS that we posit serves as a key building block in the formation of MOS. This response is likely conferred via de-novo synthesis of EPS by natural communities of bacteria. We also describe the formation of marine dispersant snow (MDS) as a product of adding chemical dispersants to seawater. Differential staining confirmed that MDS, like MOS, is composed of glycoprotein, though MDS is more protein rich. Using barcoded-amplicon Illumina MiSeq sequencing, we analyzed, for the first time, the bacterial communities associated with MDS and report that their diversity is not significantly dissimilar to those associated with MOS aggregates. Our findings emphasize the need to conduct further work on the effects of dispersants when applied to oil spills at sea, particularly at different sites, and to determine how the product of this (i.e. MOS and MDS) affects the biodegradation of the oil.
dc.format.extent13
dc.format.extent1144491
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofFrontiers in Microbiologyen
dc.subjectMarine oil snowen
dc.subjectMarine dispersant snowen
dc.subjectFaroe-Shetland Channelen
dc.subjectHydrocarbon-degrading bacteriaen
dc.subjectEPSen
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectDASen
dc.subjectSDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Productionen
dc.subjectSDG 14 - Life Below Wateren
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.titleChemical dispersant enhances microbial exopolymer (EPS) production and formation of marine oil/dispersant snow in surface waters of the subarctic northeast Atlanticen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Biologyen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Sediment Ecology Research Groupen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotlanden
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Instituteen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. St Andrews Sustainability Instituteen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Coastal Resources Management Groupen
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fmicb.2019.00553
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden


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