| Title |
Effects of Crude Oil on Marine Microbial Communities in Short Term Outdoor Microcosms |
| Author |
Seung Won Jung1, Joon Sang Park2, Oh Youn Kown1, Jung-Hoon Kang1, Won Joon Shim3, and Young-Ok Kim1* |
| Address |
1South Sea Environment Research Department, Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute, Geoje 656-830, Republic of Korea, 2Department of Biology, Sangmyung University, Seoul 110-743, Republic of Korea, 3Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute, Geoje 656-830, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 48(5),594-600, 2010,
|
| DOI |
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| Key Words |
DGGE, microbial communities, microcosm, oil spills, pollution effects, risk assessment |
| Abstract |
To assess the effects of crude oil spills on marine microbial communities, 10 L outdoor microcosms were manipulated over an exposure period of 8 days. The responses of microbial organisms exposed to five crude oil concentrations in 10 to 10,000 ppm (v/v) were monitored in the microcosms. The abundance of microalgae and copepods decreased rapidly upon the addition of crude oil at concentrations over 1,000 ppm, whereas the total density of heterotrophic bacteria increased dramatically at the higher concentrations. Bacterial diversity, determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, was increased at higher concentrations. In particular, the intensity of the bands representing Jannaschia sp. and Sulfitobacter brevis increased with the addition of oil. These results indicate that crude oil spills with concentrations over 1,000 ppm seriously affected the structure of the microbial communities. |
