Characterization of sediment microbial communities at two sites with low hydrocarbon pollution in the southeast Gulf of Mexico.

Background: Coastal ecosystems are prone to hydrocarbon pollution due to human activities, and this issue has a tremendous impact on the environment, socioeconomic consequences, and represents a hazard to humans. Bioremediation relies on the ability of bacteria to metabolize hydrocarbons with the aim of cleaning up polluted sites.

Methods: The potential of naturally occurring microbial communities as oil degraders was investigated in Sisal and Progreso, two port locations in the southeast Gulf of Mexico, both with a low level of hydrocarbon pollution.

Enhanced production of triacylglycerols and polyunsaturated fatty acids in novel acid-tolerant mutants of the green microalga Chlorella saccharophila.

In this study, the microalga Chlorella saccharophila was subjected to ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis, and mutant screening was conducted based on acidity tolerance to generate mutants with increased triacylglycerol (TAG) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents. Two improved mutant strains (M1 and M5) were generated. M1 and M5 accumulated 27.

Removal of organic matter and electricity generation of sediments from Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico, in a sediment microbial fuel cell.

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are devices that generate electrical energy through sediments rich in organic matter (OM). The present study assessed the potential of sediments collected at two sites in Yucatan, Mexico, (the swamp of Progreso port and Yucalpetén dock) to be used in these electrochemical devices. Sediments were collected during the rainy and winter seasons and were monitored in the SMFC for 120 days through electrochemical and physicochemical characterization.