Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 72, Issue 2, Pages 364-374Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.08.029
Keywords
Oil pollution; Oil seepages; North Arabian Gulf; Mechanism of survival; Coral associated oil-utilizing Bacteria
Funding
- Research Department, Kuwait University [YS02/10]
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Certain coral reef systems north of the Arabian Gulf are characterized by corals with a unique ability to thrive and flourish despite the presence of crude oil continuously seeping from natural cracks in the sea-bed. Harboring oil-degrading bacteria as a part of the holobiont has been investigated as a potential mechanism of adaptation and survival for corals in such systems. The use of conventional and molecular techniques verified a predominance of bacteria affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes in the mucus and tissues of Acropora clathrata and Porites compressa. These bacteria were capable of degrading a wide range of aliphatic (C9-C28) aromatic hydrocarbons (Phenanthrene, Biphenyl, Naphthalene) and crude oil. In addition, microcosms supplied with coral samples and various concentrations of crude oil shifted their bacterial population toward the more advantageous types of oil degraders as oil concentrations increased. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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