Variation of Microbial Diversity in Catastrophic Oil Spill Area in Marine Ecosystem and Hydrocarbon Degradation of UCMs (Unresolved Complex Mixtures) by Marine Indigenous Bacteria

The study targeted an assessment of microbial diversity during oil spill in the marine ecosystem (Kaohsiung port, Taiwan) and screened dominant indigenous bacteria for oil degradation, as well as UCM weathering. DO was detected lower and TDS/conductivity was observed higher in oil-spilled area, compared to the control, where a significant correlation (R-2 = 1; P < 0.0001) was noticed between DO and TDS. The relative abundance (RA) of microbial taxa and diversities (> 90% similarity by NGS) were found higher in the boundary region of spilled-oily-water (site B) compared to the control (site C) and center of the oil spill area (site A) (B-RA/diversity > C-RA/diversity > A(RA/diversity)). The isolated indigenous bacteria, such as Staphylococcus saprophyticus (CYCTW1), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (CYCTW2), and Bacillus megaterium (CYCTW3) degraded the C-10-C-30 including UCM of oil, where Bacillus sp. are exhibited more efficient, which are applicable for environmental cleanup of the oil spill area. Thus, the marine microbial diversity changes due to oil spill and the marine microbial community play an important role to biodegrade the oil, besides restoring the catastrophic disorders through changing their diversity by ecological selection and adaptation process.

Automated summary

The study assessed microbial diversity during an oil spill in the marine ecosystem of Kaohsiung port, Taiwan. It found that the boundary region of the spilled oily water had higher microbial taxa and diversities compared to control and center of the spill area. Indigenous bacteria like Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Bacillus megaterium were efficient in degrading oil components, making them useful for environmental cleanup. The marine microbial community plays a crucial role in biodegrading oil and restoring the ecosystem after ecological selection and adaptation processes.