Lea-Smith, David J., Biller, Steven J., Davey, Matthew P., Cotton, Charles A. R., Perez-Sepulveda, Blanca, Turchyn, Alexandra V., Scanlan, David J. , Smith, Alison G., Chisholm, Sallie W. and Howe, Christopher J. (2015) Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112 (44 ). pp. 13591-13596. doi:10.1073/pnas.1507274112 ISSN 0027-8424.

Research output not available from this repository.

Request-a-Copy directly from author or use local Library Get it For Me service.

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Hydrocarbons are ubiquitous in the ocean, where alkanes such as pentadecane and heptadecane can be found even in waters minimally polluted with crude oil. Populations of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, which are responsible for the turnover of these compounds, are also found throughout marine systems, including in unpolluted waters. These observations suggest the existence of an unknown and widespread source of hydrocarbons in the oceans. Here, we report that strains of the two most abundant marine cyanobacteria, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, produce and accumulate hydrocarbons, predominantly C15 and C17 alkanes, between 0.022 and 0.368% of dry cell weight. Based on global population sizes and turnover rates, we estimate that these species have the capacity to produce 2–540 pg alkanes per mL per day, which translates into a global ocean yield of ∼308–771 million tons of hydrocarbons annually. We also demonstrate that both obligate and facultative marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria can consume cyanobacterial alkanes, which likely prevents these hydrocarbons from accumulating in the environment. Our findings implicate cyanobacteria and hydrocarbon degraders as key players in a notable internal hydrocarbon cycle within the upper ocean, where alkanes are continually produced and subsequently consumed within days. Furthermore we show that cyanobacterial alkane production is likely sufficient to sustain populations of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, whose abundances can rapidly expand upon localized release of crude oil from natural seepage and human activities.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Journal or Publication Title:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher:	National Academy of Sciences
ISSN:	0027-8424
Official Date:	3 November 2015
Dates:	Date Event 3 November 2015 Published 5 October 2015 Available 8 September 2015 Accepted 14 April 2015 Submitted
Volume:	112
Number:	44
Page Range:	pp. 13591-13596
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.1507274112
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item