Effect of oil exposure on reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana and a comparison of exposure of oil to hydrogen peroxide on the photosynthetic physiology within 24 hours

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill spilled 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This was followed by application of 1.4 million gallons of chemical dispersants in an effort to disperse the oil into the water column and promote the biodegradation of oil. This dataset was from two flask experiments (short term) using control and oil treatments in triplicate of diatom culture Thalassiosira pseudonana. The experiments were run for a total duration of 48 hours. The parameters measured in the first experiment include cell counts, reactive oxygen levels (ROS), and in ROS/cells. The parameters measured in the second experiment include cell counts, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), electron transport rates between photosystem II and I (rETRmax), and light harvesting ability (α), PS II connectivity (ρ), QA turnover rates (τ), and functional absorption cross sectional area (σ).