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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Angela SherryORCiD, Dr Russell Grant, Dr Carolyn Aitken, Dr Martin Jones, Bernard Bowler, Professor Stephen Larter, Professor Ian Head, Emeritus Professor Neil GrayORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Crude oil-amended microcosms were prepared with inocula from eleven anoxic environments (4 river sediments, 3 lake sediments, and 4 sludges from wastewater treatment reactors) to determine their ability to produce methane from the biodegradation of crude oil. Over incubation periods of up to 1150 days, oil-stimulated methanogenesis and concomitant loss of alkanes occurred in microcosms prepared with five of the inocula whereas six of the inocula did not show oil-stimulated methane production. Bacterial and archaeal communities from microcosms exhibiting high levels of oil-stimulated methanogenesis were distinct from communities where methanogenic crude oil degradation was not detected. Successional changes were consistent with the quantitative enrichment of syntrophic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria and methanogens over time. In conclusion, in oil-impacted environments methanogenic crude oil-degrading microbial consortia are present in relatively low abundance and exhibit slow growth, and while they may be ubiquitously distributed they may not be present at sufficiently high abundance to be detected.
Author(s): Sherry S, Grant RJ, Aitken CM, Jones M, Bowler BFJ, Larter SR, Head IM, Gray ND
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation
Year: 2020
Volume: 155
Print publication date: 01/11/2020
Online publication date: 18/09/2020
Acceptance date: 31/08/2020
Date deposited: 16/11/2020
ISSN (print): 0964-8305
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2020.105085
DOI: 10.1016/j.ibiod.2020.105085
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