Occurrence and distribution of cyclic-alkane-consuming psychrophilic bacteria in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Abstract

Cyclic alkanes (c-alkanes) are toxic compounds that are abundant in subsurface oil reservoirs and spilled condensate; hence, their environmental risk is significant. Although numerous studies have focused on the decomposition of other compound classes, e.g., acyclic alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons, very little is known about the biodegradation of c-alkanes in the marine environment. Here, we enriched methylcyclohexane (MCH)-degrading bacteria derived from the cold bottom water (10–20 °C) of China’s marginal seas in summer and characterized the changes to the bacterial community using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. MCH-consuming bacteria failed to grow from the warmer surface water (25–29 °C) in the same geographic sites and seasons. Notably, MCH-consuming communities derived from the cold bottom water in the Yellow Sea exhibit distinct structures compared to the other treatments. Furthermore, almost all dominant species in this setting appear to be specifically adapted to deeper cold water as indicated by significantly negative correlations to temperature (P < 0.01). From these results, we proposed that the biodegradation of MCH is effectively limited to the colder waters (10–20 °C) of China’s marginal seas, with uncultured psychrophiles acting as the key taxa for MCH decomposition. Overall, this study indicates key functions for uncultivated microbes in the marine environment.