Impacts of high pressure on hydrocarbon biodegradation

Sediment samples collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico were used for incubations in which microbial respiration rates were measured as a proxy for biodegradation of hydrocarbons. Following the incubation, microbial communities were characterized from incubation samples using next generation sequencing of SSU rRNA genes. A systematic approach was used whereby pressure, temperature, and hydrocarbon substrate were varied.