scholarly journals Microbial Eukaryotes in Oil Sands Environments: Heterotrophs in the Spotlight

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Richardson ◽  
Joel B. Dacks
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Oil Reserves ◽  
Microbial Eukaryotes ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Hydrocarbon Extraction

Hydrocarbon extraction and exploitation is a global, trillion-dollar industry. However, for decades it has also been known that fossil fuel usage is environmentally detrimental; the burning of hydrocarbons results in climate change, and environmental damage during extraction and transport can also occur. Substantial global efforts into mitigating this environmental disruption are underway. The global petroleum industry is moving more and more into exploiting unconventional oil reserves, such as oil sands and shale oil. The Albertan oil sands are one example of unconventional oil reserves; this mixture of sand and heavy bitumen lying under the boreal forest of Northern Alberta represent one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves, but extraction also requires the disturbance of a delicate northern ecosystem. Considerable effort is being made by various stakeholders to mitigate environmental impact and reclaim anthropogenically disturbed environments associated with oil sand extraction. In this review, we discuss the eukaryotic microbial communities associated with the boreal ecosystem and how this is affected by hydrocarbon extraction, with a particular emphasis on the reclamation of tailings ponds, where oil sands extraction waste is stored. Microbial eukaryotes, or protists, are an essential part of every global ecosystem, but our understanding of how they affect reclamation is limited due to our fledgling understanding of these organisms in anthropogenically hydrocarbon-associated environments and the difficulties of studying them. We advocate for an environmental DNA sequencing-based approach to determine the microbial communities of oil sands associated environments, and the importance of studying the heterotrophic components of these environments to gain a full understanding of how these environments operate and thus how they can be integrated with the natural watersheds of the region.

Status of the Development and Application of Oil Sand

2012 ◽  
Vol 562-564 ◽  
pp. 367-370
Author(s):  
Jia He Chen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Oil Resources ◽  
Conventional Oil

Oil and natural gas are important energy and chemical raw materials, its resources are gradually reduced. With the rapid development of the global economy, the conventional oil resources can’t meet the rapid growth of oil demand, people began turning to unconventional oil resources, one of which is the oil sands. Oil sands is unconventional oil resources, if its proven reserves are converted into oil, it will be much larger than the world's proven oil reserves. Canadian oil sands reserves stand ahead in the world, followed by the former Soviet Union, Venezuela, the United States and China. However, due to its special properties, different mining and processing technology, and higher mining costs compared with conventional oil, the research of oil sands makes slow progress. At present, due to the rising of world oil price, oil sands mining technology have attracted more and more attention, and have developed a lot.

scholarly journals Cyanobacterial Mats in Calcite-Precipitating Serpentinite-Hosted Alkaline Springs of the Voltri Massif, Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Aysha Kamran ◽  
Kathrin Sauter ◽  
Andreas Reimer ◽  
Theresa Wacker ◽  
Joachim Reitner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Cyanobacterial Mats ◽  
Cyanobacterial Community ◽  
Mineral Precipitation ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Specific Adaptation ◽  
Carbonate Buildups ◽  
Generation Sequencing

(1) Background: Microbial communities in terrestrial, calcifying high-alkaline springs are not well understood. In this study, we investigate the structure and composition of microbial mats in ultrabasic (pH 10–12) serpentinite springs of the Voltri Massif (Italy). (2) Methods: Along with analysis of chemical and mineralogical parameters, environmental DNA was extracted and subjected to analysis of microbial communities based upon next-generation sequencing. (3) Results: Mineral precipitation and microbialite formation occurred, along with mat formation. Analysis of the serpentinite spring microbial community, based on Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons, point to the relevance of alkaliphilic cyanobacteria, colonizing carbonate buildups. Cyanobacterial groups accounted for up to 45% of all retrieved sequences; 3–4 taxa were dominant, belonging to the filamentous groups of Leptolyngbyaceae, Oscillatoriales, and Pseudanabaenaceae. The cyanobacterial community found at these sites is clearly distinct from creek water sediment, highlighting their specific adaptation to these environments.

scholarly journals Assessing high-throughput environmental DNA extraction methods for meta-barcode characterization of aquatic microbial communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki ◽  
Subba Rao Chaganti ◽  
Daniel Heath
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Magnetic Bead ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Rrna Gene

Abstract The characterization of microbial community dynamics using genomic methods is rapidly expanding, impacting many fields including medical, ecological, and environmental research and applications. One of the biggest challenges for such studies is the isolation of environmental DNA (eDNA) from a variety of samples, diverse microbes, and widely variable community compositions. The current study developed environmentally friendly, user safe, economical, and high throughput eDNA extraction methods for mixed aquatic microbial communities and tested them using 16 s rRNA gene meta-barcoding. Five different lysis buffers including (1) cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), (2) digestion buffer (DB), (3) guanidinium isothiocyanate (GITC), (4) sucrose lysis (SL), and (5) SL-CTAB, coupled with four different purification methods: (1) phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol (PCI), (2) magnetic Bead-Robotic, (3) magnetic Bead-Manual, and (4) membrane-filtration were tested for their efficacy in extracting eDNA from recreational freshwater samples. Results indicated that the CTAB-PCI and SL-Bead-Robotic methods yielded the highest genomic eDNA concentrations and succeeded in detecting the core microbial community including the rare microbes. However, our study recommends the SL-Bead-Robotic eDNA extraction protocol because this method is safe, environmentally friendly, rapid, high-throughput and inexpensive.

scholarly journals Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1681-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Rasouli ◽  
M. A. Hernández-Henríquez ◽  
S. J. Déry
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Ramsar Convention ◽  
Athabasca River ◽  
Oil Reserves ◽  
Mk Test ◽  
Streamflow Variability ◽  
Shift Detection

Abstract. The Lake Athabasca drainage area in northern Canada encompasses ecologically rich and sensitive ecosystems, vast forests, glacier-clad mountains, and abundant oil reserves in the form of oil sands. The basin includes the Peace–Athabasca Delta, recognized internationally by UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention as a biologically rich inland delta and wetland that are now under increasing pressure from multiple stressors. In this study, streamflow variability and trends for rivers feeding Lake Athabasca are investigated over the last half century. Hydrological regimes and trends are established using a robust regime shift detection method and the Mann–Kendall (MK) test, respectively. Results show that the Athabasca River, which is the main contributor to the total lake inflow, experienced marked declines in recent decades impacting lake levels and its ecosystem. From 1960 to 2010 there was a significant reduction in lake inflow and a significant recession in the Lake Athabasca level. Our trend analysis corroborates a previous study using proxy data obtained from nearby sediment cores suggesting that the lake level may drop 2 to 3 m by 2100. The lake recession may threaten the flora and fauna of the Athabasca Lake basin and negatively impact the ecological cycle of an inland freshwater delta and wetland of global importance.

scholarly journals Microbial Eukaryotes: a Missing Link in Gut Microbiome Studies

mSystems ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe ◽  
Marie-Claire Arrieta
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Microbial Ecology ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Sequencing Technology ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Microbial Eukaryotes ◽  
Host Health ◽  
High Level ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms ◽  
New Evidence

ABSTRACTHuman-associated microbial communities include prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across high-level clades of the tree of life. While advances in high-throughput sequencing technology allow for the study of diverse lineages, the vast majority of studies are limited to bacteria, and very little is known on how eukaryote microbes fit in the overall microbial ecology of the human gut. As recent studies consider eukaryotes in their surveys, it is becoming increasingly clear that eukaryotes play important ecological roles in the microbiome as well as in host health. In this perspective, we discuss new evidence on eukaryotes as fundamental species of the human gut and emphasize that future microbiome studies should characterize the multitrophic interactions between microeukaryotes, other microorganisms, and the host.

Extracellular DNA in environmental samples: Occurrence, extraction, quantification, and impact on microbial biodiversity assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakcham Bairoliya ◽  
Jonas Koh Zhi Xiang ◽  
Bin Cao
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequencing ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Dna Extraction ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Extracellular Dna ◽  
Biodiversity Assessment ◽  
Microbial Biodiversity ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
The Impact

Environmental DNA, i.e., DNA directly extracted from environmental samples, has been applied to understand microbial communities in the environments and to monitor contemporary biodiversity in the conservation context. Environmental DNA often contains both intracellular DNA (iDNA) and extracellular DNA (eDNA). eDNA can persist in the environment and complicate environmental DNA sequencing-based analyses of microbial communities and biodiversity. Although several studies acknowledged the impact of eDNA on DNA-based profiling of environmental communities, eDNA is still being neglected or ignored in most studies dealing with environmental samples. In this article, we summarize key findings on eDNA in environmental samples and discuss the methods used to extract and quantify eDNA as well as the importance of eDNA on the interpretation of experimental results. We then suggest several factors to consider when designing experiments and analyzing data to negate or determine the contribution of eDNA to environmental DNA-based community analyses. This field of research will be driven forward by: (i) carefully designing environmental DNA extraction pipelines by taking into consideration technical details in methods for eDNA extraction/removal and membrane-based filtration and concentration; (ii) quantifying eDNA in extracted environmental DNA using multiple methods including qPCR and fluorescent DNA binding dyes; (iii) carefully interpretating effect of eDNA on DNA-based community analyses at different taxonomic levels; and (iv) when possible, removing eDNA from environmental samples for DNA-based community analyses.

scholarly journals Surface Water Microbial Community Response to the Biocide 2,2-Dibromo-3-Nitrilopropionamide, Used in Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Fernanda Campa ◽  
Stephen M. Techtmann ◽  
Mallory P. Ladd ◽  
Jun Yan ◽  
Megan Patterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Gene Copies ◽  
Unconventional Oil And Gas ◽  
By Products

ABSTRACT Production of unconventional oil and gas continues to rise, but the effects of high-density hydraulic fracturing (HF) activity near aquatic ecosystems are not fully understood. A commonly used biocide in HF, 2,2-dibromo-3-nitrilopropionamide (DBNPA), was studied in microcosms of HF-impacted (HF+) versus HF-unimpacted (HF−) surface water streams to (i) compare the microbial community response, (ii) investigate DBNPA degradation products based on past HF exposure, and (iii) compare the microbial community response differences and similarities between the HF biocides DBNPA and glutaraldehyde. The microbial community responded to DBNPA differently in HF-impacted versus HF-unimpacted microcosms in terms of the number of 16S rRNA gene copies quantified, alpha and beta diversity, and differential abundance analyses of microbial community composition through time. The differences in microbial community changes affected degradation dynamics. HF-impacted microbial communities were more sensitive to DBNPA, causing the biocide and by-products of the degradation to persist for longer than in HF-unimpacted microcosms. A total of 17 DBNPA by-products were detected, many of them not widely known as DBNPA by-products. Many of the brominated by-products detected that are believed to be uncharacterized may pose environmental and health impacts. Similar taxa were able to tolerate glutaraldehyde and DBNPA; however, DBNPA was not as effective for microbial control, as indicated by a smaller overall decrease of 16S rRNA gene copies/ml after exposure to the biocide, and a more diverse set of taxa was able to tolerate it. These findings suggest that past HF activity in streams can affect the microbial community response to environmental perturbation such as that caused by the biocide DBNPA. IMPORTANCE Unconventional oil and gas activity can affect pH, total organic carbon, and microbial communities in surface water, altering their ability to respond to new environmental and/or anthropogenic perturbations. These findings demonstrate that 2,2-dibromo-3-nitrilopropionamide (DBNPA), a common hydraulic fracturing (HF) biocide, affects microbial communities differently as a consequence of past HF exposure, persisting longer in HF-impacted (HF+) waters. These findings also demonstrate that DBNPA has low efficacy in environmental microbial communities regardless of HF impact. These findings are of interest, as understanding microbial responses is key for formulating remediation strategies in unconventional oil and gas (UOG)-impacted environments. Moreover, some DBNPA degradation by-products are even more toxic and recalcitrant than DBNPA itself, and this work identifies novel brominated degradation by-products formed.

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