Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-5wvtr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T06:25:51.388Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Degradation of the “Erika” oil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2004

Sylvain Bordenave ,
Ronan Jézéquel ,
Aude Fourçans ,
Hélène Budzinski ,
François X. Merlin ,
Tangi Fourel ,
Marisol Goñi-Urriza ,
Rémy Guyoneaud ,
Régis Grimaud  and
Pierre Caumette
...Show all authors
Sylvain Bordenave
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Ronan Jézéquel
Affiliation:
CEDRE, 715 rue Alain Colas, CS 41836, 29218 Brest Cedex 1, France
Aude Fourçans
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Hélène Budzinski
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physico-Toxico-Chimie, UMR 5472 CNRS, Université Bordeaux I, 351 Cours de la Libération, 33405 Talence, France
François X. Merlin
Affiliation:
CEDRE, 715 rue Alain Colas, CS 41836, 29218 Brest Cedex 1, France
Tangi Fourel
Affiliation:
CEDRE, 715 rue Alain Colas, CS 41836, 29218 Brest Cedex 1, France
Marisol Goñi-Urriza
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Rémy Guyoneaud
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Régis Grimaud
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Pierre Caumette
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Robert Duran
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Écologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau, BP 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex, France
Get access

Abstract

Since March 2001, samples of the remaining oil from the wreck of the “Erika” have been collected along the Atlantic coastline in order to assess the natural degradation rate. Four years after the sinking of the tanker, chemical analyses of the oil revealed the influence of environmental parameters on the degradation kinetics. Among the diverse parameters controlling the fate of oil in the environment, biodegradation by microorganisms is known to play an important role. To investigate the role of microorganisms on “Erika” oil degradation, microbial mats from the Guérande salt marches were maintained in slurries containing the pollutant. From these slurries experiments, a low biodegradation rate of the “Erika” oil was detected indicating the degradation capacities of microbial mats. Biodiversity studies were conducted to further understand the biodegradation processes. Microbial mats from the Guérande salterns were maintained in microcosms to evaluate the impact of “Erika” oil on bacterial communities. Molecular analysis based on 16S rRNA and pufM encoding genes allowed fingerprinting of the bacterial and purple anoxygenic bacterial (PAB) communities respectively. These studies revealed bacterial diversity and communities changes showing the adaptation of microorganisms to the “Erika”.

Keywords

Microbial matBiodiversity analysisHeavy fuel oilPAHT-RFLP
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 17 , Issue 3: The "Erika" Oil Spill: Environmental Contamination and Effects in the Bay of Biscay , July 2004 , pp. 261 - 267
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abed, R.M., Safi, N.M., Koster, J., de Beer, D., El-Nahhal, Y., Rullkotter, J., Garcia-Pichel, F., 2002, Microbial diversity of a heavily polluted microbial mat and its community changes following degradation of petroleum compounds. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68, 1674-1683. CrossRef
Caumette, P., Matheron, R., Raymond, N., Relexans, J.-C., 1994, Microbial mats in the hypersaline ponds of Mediterranean salterns (Salins-de-Giraud, France). FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 13, 273-286. CrossRef
Churchill, S.A., Harper, J.P., Churchill, P.F., 1999, Isolation and characterization of a Mycobacterium species capable of degrading three- and four-ring aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65, 549-552.
Coates, J.D., Woodward, J., Allen, J., Philp, P., Lovley, D.R., 1997, Anaerobic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes in petroleum-contaminated marine harbor sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63, 3589-3593.
Desai, J.D., Banat, I.M., 1997, Microbial production of surfactants and their commercial potential. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 61, 47-64.
Garrett, R.M., Pickering, I.J., Haith, C.E., Prince, R.C., 1998, Photooxidation of crude oils. Environ. Sci. Technol. 32, 3719-3723. CrossRef
Giani, D., Seeler, J., Giani, L., Wolfgang, E.K., 1989, Microbial mats and physiochemistry in a saltern in the Bretagne (France) and in a laboratory scale saltern model. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 62, 151-162. CrossRef
Harayama, S., Kishira, H., Kasai, Y., Shutsubo, K., 1999, Petroleum biodegradation in marine environments. J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 1, 63-70.
Hoffmann L., 1996, Recolonisation of the intertidal flats by microbial mats after the Gulf War oil spill. In: Krupp, F., Abuzinada, A.H., Nader, I.A. (Eds.), A marine wildlife sanctuary for the Arabian Gulf : environmental research and conservation following the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. Riyad, Saudi Arabia, and Seneckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt, Germany, pp. 96-115.
Hua, Z., Chen, J., Lun, S., Wang, 2003, Influence of biosurfactants produced by Candida antarctica on surface properties of microorganism and biodegradation of n-alkanes. Water Res. 37, 4143-4150. CrossRef
Jézéquel, R., Menot, L., Merlin, F-X., Prince, R.C., 2003, Natural Cleanup of Heavy Fuel Oil on rocks: an in situ Experiment. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46, 983-990. CrossRef
Jones, D.A., Plaza, J., Watt, I., Al Sanei, M., 1998, Long-term (1991-1995) monitoring of the intertidal biota of Saudi Arabia after the 1991 Gulf War Oil Spill. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 36, 472-489. CrossRef
Lane D.J., 1991, 16S/23S rRNA sequencing. In: Stackenbradt, E., Goodfellow, M. (Eds.), Nucleic acid techniques in bacterial systematics. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 115-175.
Leahy, J.G., Colwell, R.R., 1990, Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in the environment. Microbiol. Rev. 54, 305-315.
MacNaughton, S.J., Stephen, J.R., Venosa, A.D., Davis, G.A., Chang, Y.J., White, D.C., 1999, Microbial population changes during bioremediation of an experimental oil spill. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65, 3566-3574.
Madigan M.T., Carey J.C., Milford A.D., Jung D.O., Achenbach L.A., 2000, New anoxygenic phototrophs from alkaline/cold environments.10th International symposium on phototrophic prokaryotes, Barcelona, Spain, August 26-31, 2000.
Mazeas, L., Budzinski, H., 2001, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 13C/12C ratio measurement in petroleum and marine sediments application to standard reference materials and a sediment suspected of contamination from the Erika oil spill. J. Chromatogr. A. 923, 165-176. CrossRef
Muyzer, G., Teske, A., Wirsen, C.O., Jannasch, H.W., 1995, Phylogenetic relationships of Thiomicrospira species and their identification in deep-sea hydrothermal vent samples by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA fragments. Arch. Microbiol. 164, 165-172. CrossRef
Oudot, J., 2000, Biodegradability of Erika fuel oil. C. R. Acad. Sci. III, Sci. Vie 323, 945-950.
Oudot J., Jézéquel R., Le Floch S., Merlin F.-X., 2002, Biodégradabilité du fuel de l'Erika, Proceedings of the 3rd R&D Forum on High-density Oil Spill Response, Brest, pp. 228-234.
Peters K.E., Moldowan J.M., 1993, The Biomarker Guide; Interpreting molecular fossils in petroleum and ancient sediments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.
Precigou, S., Goulas, P., Duran, R., 2001, Rapid and specific identification of nitrile hydratase (NHase)-encoding genes in soil samples by polymerase chain reaction. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 204, 155-161. CrossRef
Prince, R.C., Elmendorf, D.L., Lute, J.R., Hsu, C.S., Haith, C.E., Senius, J.D., Dechert, G.J., Douglas, G.S., Butler, E.L., 1994, 17 $\alpha $ (H), 21 $\beta $ (H)-hopane as a conserved internal marker for estimating the biodegradation of crude oil. Environ. Sci. Technol. 28, 142-145. CrossRef
Southward, A.J., 1978, Recolonization of rocky shores in Cornwall after use of toxic dispersants to clean up the Torrey Canyon spill. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 35, 682-706. CrossRef
Swannell, R.P., Lee, K., McDonagh, M., 1996, Field evaluations of marine oil spill bioremediation. Microbiol. Rev. 60, 342-365.
Van Dyke, M.I., Lee, H., Trevors, J.T., 1991, Applications of microbial surfactants. Biotechnol. Adv. 9, 241-252. CrossRef
Van Gemerden, H., 1993, Microbial mats: A joint of venture. Mar. Geol. 113, 3-25. CrossRef
Wang, Z., Fingas, M., 1995, Differentiation of the source of spilled oil and monitoring of the oil weathering process using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. J. Chromatogr. A. 712, 321-343. CrossRef