ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2011
Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and the bacterial community response in gulf of Mexico beach sands impacted by the deepwater horizon oil spill.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 249 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
249 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 865 citations in OpenAlex.
- A global perspective on bacterial diversity in the terrestrial deep subsurface.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Genomic insights into the metabolic complementarity of a synthetic marine consortium for hydrocarbon degradation in coastal sand microcosms.Biodegradation · 2026Article
- Moisture-driven redox dynamics shape oil-degrading microbiomes in tropical intertidal sands.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2026Article
- Microbial Diversity and Hydrocarbon-Oxidizing Bacteria in Coastal Waters and Sands Contaminated by the Fuel Oil Spill in the Black Sea.Microorganisms · 2026Article
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- Taxonomic Profiling of Bacterial Communities Associated with Metals in the Tar Mats and Cyanobacterial Mats of the Qatar Coast, Arabian Gulf.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- Engineering membrane-bound alkane monooxygenase from Marinobacter sp. for increased activity in the selective ω-hy-droxylation of linear and branched aliphatic esters.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2026Article
- Bacterial Communities in Sand and Seawater of Northern Gulf Coast Beaches: Temporal, Spatial, and Environmental Influences.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Article
- Contrasting spatial and temporal structuring of seawater and sediment bacterial communities in coastal environments.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bioturbation by the Ghost ShrimpMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Bioremediation of oil contaminants from the marine ecosystem by Alcanivorax borkumensis: an overview.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Silent bacteria: Intrinsic bioremediation potential in the sediments of Lake Faro (Messina, Italy).AIMS microbiology · 2026Article
- Biotechnological Prospects of Indigenous Oil-Degrading Bacteria for Engine Oil Remediation and Environmental Restoration in Mekelle, Ethiopia.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2026Article
- Predicting oil contamination in water using machine learning on microbial compositions.PloS one · 2026Article
- Screening and Identification of Diesel Biodegrading Bacteria Isolated From Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Garage Soils of Kericho County, Kenya.International journal of microbiology · 2026Article
- Research on an urban flood early warning model based on multi-source data collaborative perception.Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research · 2025Article
- Tropical intertidal microbiome response to the 2024 Marine Honour oil spill.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2025Article
- Nutrient amendments enrich microbial hydrocarbon degradation metagenomic potential in freshwater coastal wetland microcosm experiments.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Benefits of Immobilized Bacteria in Bioremediation of Sites Contaminated with Toxic Organic Compounds.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Maintaining ocean ecosystem health with hydrocarbonoclastic microbes.ISME communications · 2025Review
189 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A significant portion of oil from the recent Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was transported to the shoreline, where it may have severe ecological and economic consequences. The objectives of this study were (i) to identify and characterize predominant oil-degrading taxa that may be used as model hydrocarbon degraders or as microbial indicators of contamination and (ii) to characterize the in situ response of indigenous bacterial communities to oil contamination in beach ecosystems. This study was conducted at municipal Pensacola Beach, FL, where chemical analysis revealed weathered oil petroleum hydrocarbon (C₈ to C₄₀) concentrations ranging from 3.1 to 4,500 mg kg⁻¹ in beach sands. A total of 24 bacterial strains from 14 genera were isolated from oiled beach sands and confirmed as oil-degrading microorganisms. Isolated bacterial strains were primarily Gammaproteobacteria, including representatives of genera with known oil degraders (Alcanivorax, Marinobacter, Pseudomonas, and Acinetobacter). Sequence libraries generated from oiled sands revealed phylotypes that showed high sequence identity (up to 99%) to rRNA gene sequences from the oil-degrading bacterial isolates. The abundance of bacterial SSU rRNA gene sequences was ∼10-fold higher in oiled (0.44 × 10⁷ to 10.2 × 10⁷ copies g⁻¹) versus clean (0.024 × 10⁷ to 1.4 × 10⁷ copies g⁻¹) sand. Community analysis revealed a distinct response to oil contamination, and SSU rRNA gene abundance derived from the genus Alcanivorax showed the largest increase in relative abundance in contaminated samples. We conclude that oil contamination from the DH spill had a profound impact on the abundance and community composition of indigenous bacteria in Gulf beach sands, and our evidence points to members of the Gammaproteobacteria (Alcanivorax, Marinobacter) and Alphaproteobacteria (Rhodobacteraceae) as key players in oil degradation there.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.