Gulf Shore Microbes Key Players In Oil Vs. Soil

March 23, 2015- A recent study of shore soils in the aftermath of the BP oil spill indicates that microbial communities were genetically altered as they broke down most of the oil on Gulf beaches.

The latest findings were summarized in a Science Now post titled "BP Oil Spill Altered Soil Microbes On Gulf Beach" on LATimes.com which states that microbes in beach sand apparently gobbled up a lot of oil washed ashore from the 2010 BP oil spill, but that assault altered the microbial population, leaving it less functionally diverse.

Although favorable, the news is not without concerns however. Among the declines from the oil inundation was the ability to make nutrients such as nitrogen available to other life forms, according to Georgia Tech environmental microbiologist Konstantinidis Konstantinos, co-author of the study and quoted in the post.

"One of the key [microbial] groups that we saw disappearing, from the oil, was these nitrogen fixers," Konstantinos said. "That’s a concern because it supports the rest of the system."

One year after the spill, shore samples taken found that oil was barely detectable, presumably because the microbes in the beach sand did a good job of biodegrading and removing the oil.

The researchers compared genomic data from sand sampled in May 2010, just prior to when the oil arrived onshore with that of samples taken in July and October, and in June 2011.

Researchers found what they expected: microbes that can feed off hydrocarbons and fight off oil-related toxins flourished immediately, while others declined. Eventually, that trend shifted back toward the relative abundances that had been present before the spill, the study found.

The study stressed that overall, the oil did not "select" for narrowly niched species - it instead favored broader generalists.

"It seems to be the case that the generalists, those that can carry out many different functions, are better equipped to deal with oil spills, compared to some specialists, which is what some people would think," Konstantinos told the LA Times.

The post notes that the researchers hope their data could lead to ways to assess the stage of oil breakdown in soils, based on the relative abundances of various microbes.

Read the full LATimes.com Science Now post here.

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