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Growth and biochemical responses of Skeletonema costatum to petroleum contamination

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Abstract

Clonal populations of the diatom Skeletonema costatum isolated from Lake Pontchartrain (Louisiana, USA) near the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil release were exposed to uncontaminated f/2 medium or light slop oil emulsified (O-E; 25, 50, 75, 100 % of initial levels) in f/2 during short- (10 day) and long-term (21 day) incubations. During 10-day incubations, inhibition of logarithmic growth slopes occurred in the most severely contaminated populations (75, 100 % O-E f/2). Growth in oil-contaminated populations was reduced during 21-day incubations, and growth rates for all populations converged by ca. day 12. Additionally, total cell lipid contents for populations exposed to uncontaminated and contaminated media differed, and mean values for control populations were ca. 2-fold greater than populations maintained in 100 % O-E f/2 medium. Saturated and unsaturated cellular lipids in uncontaminated populations were greater than in petroleum-contaminated populations. Relative cellular fatty acids abundances and RuBisCO RNA transcript copy numbers, proxies for food storage and cellular stress, and mRNA transcript regulation influencing photosynthesis, respectively, were altered half-way through the long-term incubation; C16:0 and C16:1 fatty acids were greater and less, respectively, and RuBisCO transcript copy numbers were greater within severely contaminated populations (compared to uncontaminated populations). Yet, fatty acid abundances and RuBisCO copy numbers were equivalent among culture populations by the end of the incubation. Oil contaminants within the culture medium were measured; C6–C12 hydrocarbons and arsenic coincided with (initial) growth inhibition and (later) altered cell physiologies, respectively. Relationships among assessed parameters were deemed useful determinants for evaluating phytoplankton inhibition in response to petroleum contamination.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Mullahy Fund for Undergraduate Research at Loyola University New Orleans, Department of Biological Sciences, and J.L. Wee’s Provost Distinguished Professorship III Fund. We wish to thank William E. Paul at Motiva Enterprises LLC in Convent LA for providing the light slop oil samples and associated information. We also would like thank Maria Calzada and Precious Esie for their assistance with some of the data analyses early in the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    James L. Wee, David F. Millie & Ngan K. Nguyen

  2. Palm Island Enviro-Informatics LLC, Sarasota, FL, 34232, USA

    David F. Millie

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Johnathan Patterson & Rose Ann Cattolico

  4. College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, 33620, USA

    David E. John

  5. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA

    John H. Paul

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  1. James L. Wee
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Correspondence to James L. Wee.

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Wee, J.L., Millie, D.F., Nguyen, N.K. et al. Growth and biochemical responses of Skeletonema costatum to petroleum contamination. J Appl Phycol 28, 3317–3329 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-0902-8

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