Exploring novel alkane-degradation pathways in uncultured bacteria from the North Atlantic Ocean.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Petroleum pollution in the ocean has increased because of rapid population growth and modernization, requiring urgent remediation. Our understanding of the metabolic response of native microbial communities to oil spills is not well understood. Here, we explored the baseline hydrocarbon-degrading communities of a subarctic Atlantic region to uncover the metabolic potential of the bacteria that inhabit the surface and subsurface water. We conducted enrichments with a ¹³C-labeled hydrocarbon to capture the fraction of the community actively using the hydrocarbon. We then combined this approach with metagenomics to identify the metabolic potential of this hydrocarbon-degrading community. This revealed previously undescribed uncultured bacteria with unique metabol

SUBMITTER: Vazquez Rosas Landa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10654063 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature