Dataset for: Enhanced protein and carbohydrate hydrolyses in plume-associated deepwaters initially sampled during the early stages of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Hydrocarbon plume and non-plume deep water samples were collected from six sites near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site May-June 2010. We measured exo-acting enzyme activity to determine enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates in samples collected inside and outside the plume. Two 15 mL deepwater plume and non-plume samples were incubated with a single fluorescently labeled laminarin, xylan, and chondroitin substrate at a concentration of 3.5 uM monomer equivalent. Samples collected after 0, 1, 3, 7, and 14 days were analyzed by gel-permeation chromatography with fluorescence detection to determine hydrolysis rates. Plume and non-plume samples were filtered through a isopore filter and examined with epiflourescence microscopy to count microbial cells. This dataset reports enzymatic activities for beta glucosidase and leucine aminopeptidase, polysaccharide hydrolysis and bacterial cell counts for plume and non-plume water samples.