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Massive dominance of Epsilonproteobacteria in formation waters from a Canadian oil sands reservoir containing severely biodegraded oil.

ABSTRACT: The subsurface microbiology of an Athabasca oil sands reservoir in western Canada containing severely biodegraded oil was investigated by combining 16S rRNA gene- and polar lipid-based analyses of reservoir formation water with geochemical analyses of the crude oil and formation water. Biomass was filtered from formation water, DNA was extracted using two different methods, and 16S rRNA gene fragments were amplified with several different primer pairs prior to cloning and sequencing or community fingerprinting by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Similar results were obtained irrespective of the DNA extraction method or primers used. Archaeal libraries were dominated by Methanomicrobiales (410 of 414 total sequences formed a dominant phylotype affiliated with a Methanoregula sp.), consistent with the proposed dominant role of CO(2) -reducing methanogens in crude oil biodegradation. In two bacterial 16S rRNA clone libraries generated with different primer pairs, >?99% and 100% of the sequences were affiliated with Epsilonproteobacteria (n?=?382 and 72 total clones respectively). This massive dominance of Epsilonproteobacteria sequences was again obtained in a third library (99% of sequences; n?=?96 clones) using a third universal bacterial primer pair (inosine-341f and 1492r). Sequencing of bands from DGGE profiles and intact polar lipid analyses were in accordance with the bacterial clone library results. Epsilonproteobacterial OTUs were affiliated with Sulfuricurvum, Arcobacter and Sulfurospirillum spp. detected in other oil field habitats. The dominant organism revealed by the bacterial libraries (87% of all sequences) is a close relative of Sulfuricurvum kujiense - an organism capable of oxidizing reduced sulfur compounds in crude oil. Geochemical analysis of organic extracts from bitumen at different reservoir depths down to the oil water transition zone of these oil sands indicated active biodegradation of dibenzothiophenes, and stable sulfur isotope ratios for elemental sulfur and sulfate in formation waters were indicative of anaerobic oxidation of sulfur compounds. Microbial desulfurization of crude oil may be an important metabolism for Epsilonproteobacteria indigenous to oil reservoirs with elevated sulfur content and may explain their prevalence in formation waters from highly biodegraded petroleum systems.

SUBMITTER: Hubert CR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3490369 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Massive dominance of Epsilonproteobacteria in formation waters from a Canadian oil sands reservoir containing severely biodegraded oil.

Hubert Casey R J CR Oldenburg Thomas B P TB Fustic Milovan M Gray Neil D ND Larter Stephen R SR Penn Kevin K Rowan Arlene K AK Seshadri Rekha R Sherry Angela A Swainsbury Richard R Voordouw Gerrit G Voordouw Johanna K JK Head Ian M IM

Environmental microbiology 20110808 2

The subsurface microbiology of an Athabasca oil sands reservoir in western Canada containing severely biodegraded oil was investigated by combining 16S rRNA gene- and polar lipid-based analyses of reservoir formation water with geochemical analyses of the crude oil and formation water. Biomass was filtered from formation water, DNA was extracted using two different methods, and 16S rRNA gene fragments were amplified with several different primer pairs prior to cloning and sequencing or community ...[more]

PMID: 21824242

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Project description:Biomimetic extraction using solid-phase microextraction is a passive sampling analytical method that can predict the aquatic toxicity of complex petroleum substances. The method provides a nonanimal alternative to traditional bioassays with the potential to reduce both vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic toxicity testing. The technique uses commercially available polydimethylsiloxane-coated fibers that, following nondepletive extraction of water samples, are injected into a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detection. As the predictive nature of the method is operationally defined, it is critical that its application be harmonized with regard to extraction, analysis, and standardization parameters. Results are presented from a round robin program comparing the results from 10 laboratories analyzing four different sample sets of dissolved organics in water. Samples included two incurred oil sands process-affected waters and a cracked gas oil water accommodated fraction. A fourth sample of cracked gas oil blended in an oil sands process-affected water was analyzed to demonstrate the method's ability to differentiate between neutral and ionizable dissolved hydrocarbons. Six of the 10 laboratories applied an automated version of the method using a robotic autosampler where the critical extraction steps are precisely controlled and which permits batch screening of water samples for aquatic toxicity potential. The remaining four laboratories performed the solid-phase microextraction manually. The automated method demonstrated good reproducibility with between-laboratory variability across the six laboratories and four samples yielding a mean relative standard deviation of 14%. The corresponding between-laboratory variability across the four laboratories applying the manual extraction was 53%, demonstrating the importance of precisely controlling the extraction procedure. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1613-1622. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Project description:Historically, environmental research and monitoring in the Alberta oil sands region (OSR) located in northeastern Alberta, Canada, have largely neglected, meaningful Indigenous participation. Through years of experience on the land, Indigenous knowledge (IK) holders recognize change on the landscape, drawing on inextricable links between environmental health and practicing traditional rights. The cumulative impacts of crude oil production are of great concern to Indigenous communities, and monitoring initiatives in the OSR provide unique opportunities to develop Indigenous community-based monitoring (ICBM). A review of ICBM literature on the OSR from 2009 to 2020 was completed. Based on this review, we identify best practices in ICBM and propose governance structures and a framework to support meaningful integration of ICBM into regulatory environmental monitoring. Because it involves multimedia monitoring and produces data and insights that integrate many aspects of the environment, ICBM is important for natural science research. ICBM can enhance the relevance of environmental monitoring by examining relationships between physical and chemical stressors and culturally relevant indicators, so improving predictions of long-term changes in the environment. Unfortunately, many Indigenous communities distrust researchers owing to previous experiences of exploitive use of IK. In the present paper, we recommend important practices for the integration of IK into regional environmental monitoring programs. ICBM is important to communities because it includes conditions to which communities can exercise traditional rights, and highlight how industrial activities affect this ability. Equally important, ICBM can generate a resurgence of Indigenous languages and subsequently traditional practices; it can also revive the connection with traditional lands and improve food security. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:407-427. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Dataset Information

Massive dominance of Epsilonproteobacteria in formation waters from a Canadian oil sands reservoir containing severely biodegraded oil.

Publications

Massive dominance of Epsilonproteobacteria in formation waters from a Canadian oil sands reservoir containing severely biodegraded oil.

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