Oil Degradation in Coastal Environments

Epiphytic biofilms on Arctic and Subarctic seaweeds. Recently we have initiated a study characterizing the epiphytic biofilms on Arctic and Subarctic seaweeds in the search for oil-degrading bacteria that can be used for bioremediation of oil polluted environments. In these studies, we have mapped bacterial communities associated with the chronic oil-pollution. As the follow-up, we undertook the total metagenome sequencing of those communities in order to characterize hydrocarbon degrading potential. This study is complemented by construction of functional fosmid libraries for novel degradation pathway discovery. In parallel, we study responses of bacterial communities associated with high plants in the tidal zone to the oil pollution. The project has high relevance for on-going and planned oil-development projects in the Barents Sea.

Contact: John Beck Jensen, Anton Liaimer