Metatranscriptomes of oil-contaminated marine coastal sediment affected by oil addition and/or by the bioturbating activity of the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor: Who are the microbial players?

Abstract

In coastal marine sediment, oxygen fluctuations induced by bioturbating activities are widespread and exert a great influence, not only on the structure and diversity of the microbenthic communities, but also on their activities. Thus, the activity of benthic organisms can have a significant influence on the degradation of hydrocarbons (HC) and can favor the development of hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms in contaminated marine sediments. Here, we have generated metatranscriptomic data from coastal marine sediments affected by oil addition and/or by the reworking activity of the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor to gain insights into the active microbial groups involved in the response to oil addition under the oxygen-fluctuating conditions. The preliminary results suggest that the macrofauna promote the diversity of active aerobic hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria in marine sediments, even if its influence cannot be strongly observed at the microbial community expression profiles level.