Review
Environmental Sciences
Tracey T. Sutton, Rosanna J. Milligan, Kendra Daly, Kevin M. Boswell, April B. Cook, Maelle Cornic, Tamara Frank, Kaitlin Frasier, Daniel Hahn, Frank Hernandez, John Hildebrand, Chuanmin Hu, Matthew W. Johnston, Samantha B. Joye, Heather Judkins, Jon A. Moore, Steven A. Murawski, Nina M. Pruzinsky, John A. Quinlan, Andrew Remsen, Kelly L. Robinson, Isabel C. Romero, Jay R. Rooker, Michael Vecchione, R. J. David Wells
Summary: The Deepwater Horizon disaster had unprecedented impacts on the open-ocean ecosystem, affecting the ecology and animal populations significantly. Many animal populations continue to decline a decade later, highlighting their vulnerability and the extent of damage.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaolong Geng, Charbel Abou Khalil, Roger C. Prince, Kenneth Lee, Chunjiang An, Michel C. Boufadel
Summary: The study found that intrinsic beach capillarity and groundwater depth are the primary factors controlling moisture and redox conditions on the oil-contaminated beach surface. Atmosphere-ocean-groundwater interactions created hypersaline sediment environments at the study sites, inhibiting oil decomposition.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Mohamed Elsheref, Lena Messina, Matthew A. Tarr
Summary: Oil spills have significant negative effects on marine systems, and previous research has overlooked the importance of photochemistry in the fate of spilled oil. Recent studies have shown that photochemistry plays a crucial role in the transformation of oil after a spill, particularly in emulsification, oxygenation, and microbial interactions. Advanced analytical approaches have also improved our understanding of oil photochemistry after maritime spills.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Kai Ziervogel, Manoj Kamalanathan, Antonietta Quigg
Summary: Specialized heterotrophic microbial communities play a crucial role in the weathering of biological oil in the ocean and assessing their activities is important for understanding hydrocarbon biodegradation. Traditional methods of assessing oil biodegradation are costly and time-consuming, but measuring extracellular enzyme activity provides a more convenient alternative. This article explores the use of fluorescence assays of esterases as sensitive indicators for microbial oil degradation in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Emily M. Milton, Maria C. Cartolano, Danielle McDonald
Summary: The study examined the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the vertebrate stress axis and found that marine vertebrates exposed to Deepwater Horizon (DWH) PAHs may experience stress axis impairment. Chronic stress combined with PAH exposure further exacerbated these effects. The mechanism of impairment may involve downregulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) acting as a secondary cortisol secretagogue.
AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
William F. Patterson III, Kelly Lynn Robinson, Beverly K. Barnett, Matthew D. Campbell, David C. Chagaris, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Kendra L. Daly, David S. Hanisko, Frank J. Hernandez Jr, Steven A. Murawski, Adam G. Pollack, David S. Portnoy, Erin L. Pulster
Summary: The paper reviews the evidence of population-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico continental shelf taxa and explores the resiliency following the spill. The environmental and biological evidence suggests that the spill had direct and indirect impacts on Gulf of Mexico shelf taxa, resulting in mortality and shifts in community composition. The lack of precise population-level data and assessments prior to the spill makes it difficult to estimate the full scale of the effects and the resilience of the population.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kendra L. Daly, Andrew Remsen, Dawn M. Outram, Heather Broadbent, Kurt Kramer, Kate Dubickas
Summary: This study evaluated the resilience of the zooplankton community to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northeast Gulf of Mexico and found that there was no long-term impact from the oil spill. Instead, environmental variability and riverine processes strongly influenced zooplankton community dynamics.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Barbara K. Linnehan, Forrest M. Gomez, Sharon M. Huston, Adonia Hsu, Ryan Takeshita, Kathleen M. Colegrove, Craig A. Harms, Ashley Barratclough, Alissa C. Deming, Teri K. Rowles, Whitney B. Musser, Eric S. Zolman, Randall S. Wells, Eric D. Jensen, Lori H. Schwacke, Cynthia R. Smith
Summary: The study identified significant cardiac abnormalities in bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, potentially linked to oil exposure. Further research is needed to confirm this association and rule out alternative hypotheses.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Robyn N. Conmy, Alexander Hall, Devi Sundaravadivelu, Blake A. Schaeffer, Andrew R. Murray
Summary: Tracking the subsea oil plume during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was conducted using both in situ fluorescence and discrete sample chemical analyses. Discrete samples provided a coarse picture of the oil plume footprint, while in situ fluorescence data improved the resolution. Through analysis of millions of continuous data points, fluorescence was found to serve as a proxy for BTEX concentration.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Steven A. Murawski, Joshua P. Kilborn, Adriana C. Bejarano, David Chagaris, David Donaldson, Frank J. Hernandez Jr, Timothy C. MacDonald, Craig Newton, Ernst Peebles, Kelly L. Robinson
Summary: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest marine oil spill in global history by length of affected shoreline, with long-term impacts on coastal and nearshore biological resources. While some species like Gulf Menhaden were not significantly affected by the spill, others like Bottlenose Dolphins suffered severe and ongoing health effects due to oil exposure. This event highlighted the importance of studying the ecological consequences of oil spills and the effectiveness of response measures.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kelsey L. Rogers, Samantha H. Bosman, Natalie Wildermann, Brad E. Rosenheim, Joseph P. Montoya, David Hollander, Tingting Zhao, Jeffrey P. Chanton
Summary: Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, post-spill isotopic values of sediment organic carbon reached a new baseline, influenced by river discharge and hydrocarbon seepage. Spatial variations in seafloor organic carbon baseline isotopic values showed a 50% decrease in petrocarbon mass from 2010 to 2014. Despite observed recovery, residual material was still evident in surface sediments seven years after the blowout.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Brandi S. Echols
Summary: This study aimed to quantitatively determine the toxicity of oil remaining in sediment from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and found that less than 13% of toxicity tests on benthic species showed toxicity. There was no clear relationship between toxicity test results, oiling category, or measured total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Rachel L. Mugge, Jennifer L. Salerno, Leila J. Hamdan
Summary: Marine biofilms play a crucial role in transforming built structures into artificial reefs, but anthropogenic contaminants like crude oil and dispersant can disrupt their diversity and function. Metagenomic analysis of biofilms from different marine environments revealed taxonomic differences and higher diversity in surface seawater biofilms. Functional differences between surface and deep seawater biofilms were primarily driven by membrane transport genes, while similarities were observed in translation, signaling, and cellular process genes. Oil and dispersant exposure led to functional redundancy in microbiomes, highlighting the importance of considering microbial composition and function when studying responses to environmental changes in marine biofilms.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
By Paul A. Sandifer, Alesia Ferguson, Melissa L. Finucane, Melissa Partyka, Helena M. Solo-Gabriele, Ann Hayward Walker, Kateryna Wowk, Rex Caffey, David Yoskowitz
Summary: The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill had significant impacts on the health of people and communities in the Gulf of Mexico region, leading to negative mental and physical health outcomes. It also affected the living resources, tourism, and recreation sectors. The lack of baseline data poses challenges for research and monitoring efforts, highlighting the need for continuous observing systems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Manasa Muralidharan, K. Veena Gayathri, P. Senthil Kumar, D. S. Preethi, R. Kavitha, Revathy Rajagopal, Gayathri Rangasamy
Summary: Accidents involving diesel oil spills are prevalent in sea-and coastal regions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent contaminants with poor water solubility. Microbial degradation of PAHs has proven to be a beneficial and effective method for pollutant removal.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Haydn F. Thompson, Celine Lesaulnier, Claus Pelikan, Tony Gutierrez
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS
(2018)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marta Wozniak-Karczewska, Piotr Lisiecki, Wojciech Bialas, Mikolaj Owsianiak, Agnieszka Piotrowska-Cyplik, Lukasz Wolko, Lukasz Lawniczak, Hermann J. Heipieper, Tony Gutierrez, Lukasz Chrzanowski
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
Laura Duran Suja, Xindi Chen, Stephen Summers, David M. Paterson, Tony Gutierrez
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lakshmi Tripathi, Matthew S. Twigg, Aikaterini Zompra, Karina Salek, Victor U. Irorere, Tony Gutierrez, Georgios A. Spyroulias, Roger Marchant, Ibrahim M. Banat
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tony Gutierrez, Gordon Morris, Dave Ellis, Barbara Mulloy, Michael D. Aitken
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Christina Nikolova, Tony Gutierrez
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Seyedeh Fatemeh Mohsenpour, Sebastian Hennige, Nicholas Willoughby, Adebayo Adeloye, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: This review focuses on the application of mixotrophic microalgae in wastewater treatment, highlighting their mechanisms in reducing nitrogen, phosphorus,and COD, as well as factors influencing their effectiveness and bioreactor design.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Haydn Frank Thompson, Stephen Summers, Raif Yuecel, Tony Gutierrez
Article
Microbiology
Saskia Rughoeft, Nico Jehmlich, Tony Gutierrez, Sara Kleindienst
Summary: This study used comparative proteomics to investigate the impact of Corexit dispersant on the metabolism, chemotaxis, biofilm formation, and solvent tolerance mechanisms of the marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium strain TT1. The results revealed that exposure to Corexit affects various physiological aspects of strain TT1, providing new insights into the impact of dispersants on microbial hydrocarbon degraders for future oil spill response actions.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Saskia Rughoft, Anjela L. Vogel, Samantha B. Joye, Tony Gutierrez, Sara Kleindienst
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Georgia-Persephoni Voulgaridou, Theodora Mantso, Ioannis Anestopoulos, Ariel Klavaris, Christina Katzastra, Despoina-Eugenia Kiousi, Marini Mantela, Alex Galanis, Konstantinos Gardikis, Ibrahim M. Banat, Tony Gutierrez, Karina Salek, Stephen Euston, Mihalis I. Panayiotidis, Aglaia Pappa
Summary: SAAs are synthetic chemicals produced from non-renewable sources, with potential toxic impacts on humans and the environment, while natural derived SAAs from the marine environment are seen as promising due to their low toxicity, environmental compatibility, and biodegradability. The Horizon 2020 EU-funded project, MARISURF, aims to identify and characterize SAAs derived from marine bacteria for commercial use, with recent assessments showing lack of cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and antioxidant capacity, supporting their potential as environmentally friendly biosurfactants.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Christina Nikolova, Umer Zeeshan Ijaz, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: Assembly processes in marine microbial communities amended with crude oil, chemical dispersant, and rhamnolipid are controlled by a combination of deterministic and stochastic factors. Determinism dominates in the early phase, while stochasticity is prevalent in the middle and late stages. Communities amended with dispersant recruit phylogenetically distant species faster compared to oil-only or rhamnolipid-amended communities.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Christina N. Nikolova, Umer Zeeshan Ijaz, Clayton Magill, Sara Kleindienst, Samantha B. Joye, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: The study revealed that the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time. The synthetic dispersant Finasol had a significant negative impact on community diversity and taxa-functional robustness, while the biogenic surfactant rhamnolipid showed higher performance in aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Karen C. L. Fung, Henrique S. Dornelles, Maria B. A. Varesche, Tony Gutierrez
Summary: Synthetic chemical surfactants (SCSs) are widely used in various industrial applications, but their release into the environment has caused significant damage and potential toxic effects. As a result, there is a growing demand for sustainable alternatives, such as biosurfactants, which are biodegradable and non-toxic. However, the low yields and high production costs of microbial biosurfactants pose challenges for their commercialization. This review focuses on discussing the release of SCSs, their impact on marine organisms and humans, and the potential of microbial biosurfactants as replacements.
Article
Microbiology
Mirna Vazquez Rosas Landa, Valerie De Anda, Robin R. Rohwer, Angelina Angelova, Georgia Waldram, Tony Gutierrez, Brett J. Baker
Summary: This study used DNA-SIP and metagenomics to investigate the native alkane-degrading bacteria in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Two previously overlooked hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, Lentibacter and Dokdonia, were discovered, with Lentibacter being the dominant genus. Additionally, new metabolic pathways and mechanisms for alkane degradation were identified, enhancing the understanding of the diversity and physiologies of alkane degradation in the North Atlantic.