Deepwater Horizon oil spill sediments Metagenome

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem was altered significantly. Characterization of microbial community composition, microbial activity, and geochemistry could reveal temporal transitions of seafloor microbial communities in response to pulsed oil inputs using time-series samples collected over the past 8 years. Samples taken at the epicenter of the wellhead will allow assessment of changes in microbial composition as a direct effect of exposure to oil. We will generate a temporal dataset of microbiome shifts to enable in depth analysis of ecotype diversification, as well as abundance and characterization of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria over time, which is critical for understanding how the microbiome recovers from exposure to oil. Lead PI: Samantha Joye [e-mail]