Metatranscriptomic responses and microbial degradation of background polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the coastal Mediterranean and Antarctica.

ABSTRACT: Although microbial degradation is a key sink of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in surface seawaters, there is a dearth of field-based evidences of regional divergences in biodegradation and the effects of PAHs on site-specific microbial communities. We compared the magnitude of PAH degradation and its impacts in short-term incubations of coastal Mediterranean and the Maritime Antarctica microbiomes with environmentally relevant concentrations of PAHs. Mediterranean bacteria readily degraded the less hydrophobic PAHs, with rates averaging 4.72 ± 0.5 ng L h^-1. Metatranscriptomic responses showed significant enrichments of genes associated to horizontal gene transfer, stress response, and PAH degradation, mainly harbored by Alphaproteobacteria. Community composition changed

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Varela A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10697874 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature