More than 2500 years of oil exposure shape sediment microbiomes with the potential for syntrophic degradation of hydrocarbons linked to methanogenesis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Natural oil seeps offer the opportunity to study the adaptation of ecosystems and the associated microbiota to long-term oil exposure. In the current study, we investigated a land-to-sea transition ecosystem called "Keri Lake" in Zakynthos Island, Greece. This ecosystem is unique due to asphalt oil springs found at several sites, a phenomenon already reported 2500 years ago. Sediment microbiomes at Keri Lake were studied, and their structure and functional potential were compared to other ecosystems with oil exposure histories of various time periods.

Results

Replicate sediment cores (up to 3-m depth) were retrieved from one site exposed to oil as well as a non-exposed control site. Samples from three different depths were subjected to chemical analysis and metage

SUBMITTER: Michas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5594585 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature