{"634723":{"#nid":"634723","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Joel Kostka Details the Microbial Legacy of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETen years on, the Deepwater Horizon ecological disaster remains one of the largest natural disasters in modern history. Yet it has offered one silver lining to science, as advances in technology in the ten years since Deepwater \u0026mdash; particularly the field known as omics \u0026mdash; have allowed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Science\u003C\/a\u003E Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka\u0022\u003EJoel Kostka\u003C\/a\u003E and other researchers to learn more than ever before about the microbial ecology of the world\u0026rsquo;s oceans.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat knowledge is now available in the form of a joint colloquium report, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.asmscience.org\/docserver\/fulltext\/microbial-genomics.pdf?expires=1587741464\u0026amp;id=id\u0026amp;accname=guest\u0026amp;checksum=732D98684615D129FC541F28FE41AF54\u0022\u003EGenomics of the Global Ocean System\u003C\/a\u003E. Kostka (also the School\u0026rsquo;s associate chair of research) and University of Georgia Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.marsci.uga.edu\/directory\/people\/samantha-b-joye\u0022\u003ESamantha Joye\u003C\/a\u003E are co-authors of the report, written for the American Academy of Microbiology, an honorific\u0026nbsp;branch of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/asm.org\/Academy\/Academy?utm_source=RealMagnet\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_content=Academy%5FColloquium%5FDeep%5FHorizon%5F20200420\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Academy\u0022\u003EAmerican Society of Microbiology\u003C\/a\u003E. Fellow researchers in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gulfresearchinitiative.org\/?utm_source=RealMagnet\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_content=Academy%5FColloquium%5FDeep%5FHorizon%5F20200420\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Academy\u0022\u003EGulf of Mexico Research Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.agu.org\/?utm_source=RealMagnet\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_content=Academy%5FColloquium%5FDeep%5FHorizon%5F20200420\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Academy\u0022\u003EAmerican Geophysical Union\u003C\/a\u003E also collaborated on the report.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The report highlights new research tools, methodology, data resources, collaborations, and models that will advance basic and applied research to provide data-driven solutions to environmental challenges,\u0026rdquo; the report says in its executive summary. \u0026ldquo;Beginning in 2010, the development and application of genomics and bioinformatics tools enabled researchers, for the first time, to identify and examine individual microorganisms within their complex communities in unprecedented detail. Today, technical advances and new discoveries reveal a natural capacity of microbes in the Gulf of Mexico to catalyze bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons. This knowledge is critical to guide mitigation and restoration strategies that build on microbes\u0026rsquo; natural bioremediation capabilities without further disturbing sensitive ecosystems.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Rise of Omics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn April 20, 2010, an explosion on British Petroleum\u0026rsquo;s Deepwater Horizon marine oil platform killed 11 workers and sent 60,000 barrels of oil a day streaming into the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting 57,000 square-mile oil slick damaged more than 1,000 miles of shoreline.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the report, Kostka and Joye list the \u0026quot;omics\u0026quot; that helped all the researchers involved expand their knowledge of the ocean\u0026rsquo;s microbial community, and how it responds to disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill. Some of the omics include:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EGenomics \u0026ndash; This accounted for faster and much less expensive gene sequencing of microbes, and showed scientists how those microbes fit into ocean ecology, such as their natural ability to break down polluting hydrocarbons.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EMetabolomics \u0026ndash; The use of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (nMRI) and high-resolution mass spectrometry yielded \u0026ldquo;metabolite fingerprints\u0026rdquo; that revealed how microbes were interacting with each other.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ETranscriptomics \u0026ndash; Changes or differences in RNA sequencing showed how certain microbes responded to ecological threats such as oil spills.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EProteomics \u0026ndash; Mass spectrometry of the protein inside cells showed clues about protein \u0026ldquo;on\/off switches,\u0026rdquo; which can dramatically alter cellular\u0026nbsp;functions.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDiscovering New Oil-Eating Microbes \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the section of the report titled Meet the Microbes, Kostka and Joye write that the omics tools led to discoveries of new organisms that help to clean up oil-contaminated marine environments. \u0026ldquo;Omics snapshots of the entire community illuminate metabolic pathways and ecosystem functions accomplished by cooperative microbial communities that would be overlooked by examining only individual species or small RNA gene sequence data.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe tools also showed new hydrocarbon-degrading abilities of other microbes. \u0026ldquo;Major known classes of microbes, like \u003Cem\u003EBacteroidetes\u003C\/em\u003E, have been found to harbor a previously unknown potential for hydrocarbon biodegradation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Many major players and ecotypes have been discovered, but we have only scratched the surface in identifying microbes involved in hydrocarbon degradation. There are vast worlds yet to uncover, and the search continues for those that remain hidden, with new additions to the community being discovered frequently.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead the full report: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.asmscience.org\/docserver\/fulltext\/microbial-genomics.pdf?expires=1587741464\u0026amp;id=id\u0026amp;accname=guest\u0026amp;checksum=732D98684615D129FC541F28FE41AF54\u0022\u003EGenomics of the Global Ocean System\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EKostka wrote about early findings from this report in the April 2020 edition of Eos, the AGU\u0026rsquo;s research magazine. Read about our coverage of that story \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/deepwater-horizon-and-rise-omics-decade-breakthroughs-microbial-science\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Kostka co-authors report detailing new discoveries found in Gulf waters, thanks to omics advances "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences Professor Joel Kostka has co-authored a final report for four scientific organizations on the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform disaster on the microbial ecology of the world\u0026#39;s oceans.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Kostka co-authors report detailing new discoveries found in Gulf waters, thanks to omics advances "}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2020-04-24 17:30:11","changed_gmt":"2020-04-24 19:15:29","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-04-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-04-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"633951":{"id":"633951","type":"image","title":"Photograph of oil droplets and microbes during the Deepwater Horizon spill. (Photo courtesy AP Images\/Shutterstock\/Shmruti Karthikeyan\/Eos Magazine","body":null,"created":"1585681817","gmt_created":"2020-03-31 19:10:17","changed":"1585681817","gmt_changed":"2020-03-31 19:10:17","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241221","name":"Oil microbes.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Oil%20microbes.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Oil%20microbes.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1014282,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Oil%20microbes.png?itok=46Xpbf7-"}},"634724":{"id":"634724","type":"image","title":"Cover of Microbial Genomics of the Global Ocean System report","body":null,"created":"1587749769","gmt_created":"2020-04-24 17:36:09","changed":"1587749769","gmt_changed":"2020-04-24 17:36:09","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241546","name":"Genomics of the Global Ocean System cover.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Genomics%20of%20the%20Global%20Ocean%20System%20cover.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Genomics%20of%20the%20Global%20Ocean%20System%20cover.png","mime":"image\/png","size":342279,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Genomics%20of%20the%20Global%20Ocean%20System%20cover.png?itok=gDToNhMQ"}},"633955":{"id":"633955","type":"image","title":"Joel Kostka, Professor and Associate Chair of Research, School of Biological Sciences ","body":null,"created":"1585682840","gmt_created":"2020-03-31 19:27:20","changed":"1585682840","gmt_changed":"2020-03-31 19:27:20","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241226","name":"Joel Kostka classroom.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Joel%20Kostka%20classroom.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Joel%20Kostka%20classroom.png","mime":"image\/png","size":291075,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Joel%20Kostka%20classroom.png?itok=NEpgXf59"}}},"media_ids":["633951","634724","633955"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/deepwater-horizon-and-rise-omics-decade-breakthroughs-microbial-science","title":"Deepwater Horizon and the Rise of the Omics: A Decade of Breakthroughs in Microbial Science"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/sciencematters-season-3-episode-8-digging-climate-clues-peat-moss","title":"ScienceMatters - Season 3, Episode 8 - Digging Up Climate Clues in Peat Moss"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2015\/02\/17\/study-details-impact-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-beach-microbial-communities","title":"Study details impact of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on beach microbial communities"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/research\/cimage\/cimage.html","title":"Joel Kostka Laboratory - Microbial Ecology "}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"20131","name":"Joel Kostka"},{"id":"170146","name":"Deepwater Horizon oil spill"},{"id":"184359","name":"Omics"},{"id":"184353","name":"microbial ecology"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}