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Title: Bacterial Biomarkers of Marcellus Shale Activity in Pennsylvania

Abstract

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is becoming more prevalent with the increasing use and demand for natural gas; however, the full extent of its environmental impacts is still unknown. Here we measured physicochemical properties and bacterial community composition of sediment samples taken from twenty-eight streams within the Marcellus shale formation in northeastern Pennsylvania differentially impacted by hydraulic fracturing activities. Fourteen of the streams were classified as UOG+, and thirteen were classified as UOG- based on the presence of UOG extraction in their respective watersheds. One stream was located in a watershed that previously had UOG extraction activities but was recently abandoned. We utilized high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to infer differences in sediment aquatic bacterial community structure between UOG+ and UOG- streams, as well as correlate bacterial community structure to physicochemical water parameters. Although overall alpha and beta diversity differences were not observed, there were a plethora of significantly enriched operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within UOG+ and UOG- samples. Our biomarker analysis revealed many of the bacterial taxa enriched in UOG+ streams can live in saline conditions, such as Rubrobacteraceae. In addition, several bacterial taxa capable of hydrocarbon degradation were also enrichedmore » in UOG+ samples, including Oceanospirillaceae. Methanotrophic taxa, such as Methylococcales, were significantly enriched as well. Several taxa that were identified as enriched in these samples were enriched in samples taken from different streams in 2014; moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed clustering between streams from the different studies based on the presence of hydraulic fracturing along the second axis. This study revealed significant differences between bacterial assemblages within stream sediments of UOG+ and UOG- streams and identified several potential biomarkers for evaluating and monitoring the response of autochthonous bacterial communities to potential hydraulic fracturing impacts.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Juniata Univ., Huntingdon, PA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  4. Susquehanna Univ., Selinsgrove, PA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1470846
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1479435
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Microbiology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: n/a; Journal ID: ISSN 1664-302X
Publisher:
Frontiers Research Foundation
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Chen See, Jeremy R., Ulrich, Nikea, Nwanosike, Hephzibah, McLimans, Christopher J., Tokarev, Vasily, Wright, Justin R., Campa, Maria F., Grant, Christopher J., Hazen, Terry C., Niles, Jonathan M., Ressler, Daniel, and Lamendella, Regina. Bacterial Biomarkers of Marcellus Shale Activity in Pennsylvania. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01697.
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Chen See, Jeremy R., Ulrich, Nikea, Nwanosike, Hephzibah, McLimans, Christopher J., Tokarev, Vasily, Wright, Justin R., Campa, Maria F., Grant, Christopher J., Hazen, Terry C., Niles, Jonathan M., Ressler, Daniel, & Lamendella, Regina. Bacterial Biomarkers of Marcellus Shale Activity in Pennsylvania. United States. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01697.
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Chen See, Jeremy R., Ulrich, Nikea, Nwanosike, Hephzibah, McLimans, Christopher J., Tokarev, Vasily, Wright, Justin R., Campa, Maria F., Grant, Christopher J., Hazen, Terry C., Niles, Jonathan M., Ressler, Daniel, and Lamendella, Regina. Thu . "Bacterial Biomarkers of Marcellus Shale Activity in Pennsylvania". United States. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01697. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1470846.
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@article{osti_1470846,
title = {Bacterial Biomarkers of Marcellus Shale Activity in Pennsylvania},
author = {Chen See, Jeremy R. and Ulrich, Nikea and Nwanosike, Hephzibah and McLimans, Christopher J. and Tokarev, Vasily and Wright, Justin R. and Campa, Maria F. and Grant, Christopher J. and Hazen, Terry C. and Niles, Jonathan M. and Ressler, Daniel and Lamendella, Regina},
abstractNote = {Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is becoming more prevalent with the increasing use and demand for natural gas; however, the full extent of its environmental impacts is still unknown. Here we measured physicochemical properties and bacterial community composition of sediment samples taken from twenty-eight streams within the Marcellus shale formation in northeastern Pennsylvania differentially impacted by hydraulic fracturing activities. Fourteen of the streams were classified as UOG+, and thirteen were classified as UOG- based on the presence of UOG extraction in their respective watersheds. One stream was located in a watershed that previously had UOG extraction activities but was recently abandoned. We utilized high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to infer differences in sediment aquatic bacterial community structure between UOG+ and UOG- streams, as well as correlate bacterial community structure to physicochemical water parameters. Although overall alpha and beta diversity differences were not observed, there were a plethora of significantly enriched operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within UOG+ and UOG- samples. Our biomarker analysis revealed many of the bacterial taxa enriched in UOG+ streams can live in saline conditions, such as Rubrobacteraceae. In addition, several bacterial taxa capable of hydrocarbon degradation were also enriched in UOG+ samples, including Oceanospirillaceae. Methanotrophic taxa, such as Methylococcales, were significantly enriched as well. Several taxa that were identified as enriched in these samples were enriched in samples taken from different streams in 2014; moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed clustering between streams from the different studies based on the presence of hydraulic fracturing along the second axis. This study revealed significant differences between bacterial assemblages within stream sediments of UOG+ and UOG- streams and identified several potential biomarkers for evaluating and monitoring the response of autochthonous bacterial communities to potential hydraulic fracturing impacts.},
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2018.01697},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
number = n/a,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {8}
}
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DOI:  10.3389/fmicb.2018.01697
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