PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hazen, Terry C.
AU  - Dubinsky, Eric A.
AU  - DeSantis, Todd Z.
AU  - Andersen, Gary L.
AU  - Piceno, Yvette M.
AU  - Singh, Navjeet
AU  - Jansson, Janet K.
AU  - Probst, Alexander
AU  - Borglin, Sharon E.
AU  - Fortney, Julian L.
AU  - Stringfellow, William T.
AU  - Bill, Markus
AU  - Conrad, Mark E.
AU  - Tom, Lauren M.
AU  - Chavarria, Krystle L.
AU  - Alusi, Thana R.
AU  - Lamendella, Regina
AU  - Joyner, Dominique C.
AU  - Spier, Chelsea
AU  - Baelum, Jacob
AU  - Auer, Manfred
AU  - Zemla, Marcin L.
AU  - Chakraborty, Romy
AU  - Sonnenthal, Eric L.
AU  - D’haeseleer, Patrik
AU  - Holman, Hoi-Ying N.
AU  - Osman, Shariff
AU  - Lu, Zhenmei
AU  - Van Nostrand, Joy D.
AU  - Deng, Ye
AU  - Zhou, Jizhong
AU  - Mason, Olivia U.
TI  - Deep-Sea Oil Plume Enriches Indigenous Oil-Degrading Bacteria
AID  - 10.1126/science.1195979
DP  - 2010 Oct 08
TA  - Science
PG  - 204--208
VI  - 330
IP  - 6001
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6001/204.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6001/204.full
SO  - Science2010 Oct 08; 330
AB  - The biological effects and expected fate of the vast amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon blowout are unknown owing to the depth and magnitude of this event. Here, we report that the dispersed hydrocarbon plume stimulated deep-sea indigenous γ-Proteobacteria that are closely related to known petroleum degraders. Hydrocarbon-degrading genes coincided with the concentration of various oil contaminants. Changes in hydrocarbon composition with distance from the source and incubation experiments with environmental isolates demonstrated faster-than-expected hydrocarbon biodegradation rates at 5°C. Based on these results, the potential exists for intrinsic bioremediation of the oil plume in the deep-water column without substantial oxygen drawdown.