Marine hydrocarbon seeps are ecosystems that are rich in methane, and, in some cases, short-chain (C2-C5) and longer alkanes. C2-C4 alkanes such as ethane, propane, and butane can be significant components of seeping fluids. Some sulfate-reducing microbes oxidize short-chain alkanes anaerobically, and may play an important role in both the competition for sulfate and the local carbon budget. To...

The desorption kinetics of polyethyleneglycols (PEGs) of varying chain length, N, have been studied on the surface of graphite. The chain ength dependence of the E des has been measured for PEGs and compared with those of n-alkanes and polyethyleneglycol dimethylethers PEG-DMEs) adsorbed on graphite. The short PEGs have higher E des than PEG-DMEs of comparable length. More importantly, in the s...

background petroleum hydrocarbons are mix compounds and divided into four groups: saturates, aromatics, resins and asphalten. among various phases of crude-oil, the alkanes with medium length chain are favorable substrates that rapidly degraded, although short-chain alkanes are very toxic and long-chain alkanes have low solubility in water that reduce its bioavailability and make resistant to b...

The incorporation of plant biomass into soil usually leads to long-chain n-alkanes with a relative predominance of odd carbon numbered homologues. Contrastingly, an increase in short-chain even carbon numbered n-alkanes was found in charred biomass with progressing temperatures. We applied lipid analysis to buried ancient topsoils that contained charred organic matter and to corresponding contr...

The hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, an active spreading center in the Gulf of California (Mexico), are rich in porewater methane, short-chain alkanes, sulfate and sulfide, and provide a model system to explore habitat preferences of microorganisms, including sulfate-dependent, methane- and short chain alkane-oxidizing microbial communities. In this study, hot sediments (above 60°C) cov...

introduction persian gulf is a warm, hypersaline, shallow and semi-enclosed sea with low hydrodynamic energy and ideal conditions for deposition of particle materials. qeshm island is the largest island of persian gulf, in the mouth of strategic hormoz strait. every day, many tankers and ships that transport oil production of persian gulf throughout the world, cross near this island. thus, qesh...

Short-chain alkanes play a substantial role in carbon and sulfur cycling at hydrocarbon-rich environments globally, yet few studies have examined the metabolism of ethane (C2), propane (C3), and butane (C4) in anoxic sediments in contrast to methane (C1). In hydrothermal vent systems, short-chain alkanes are formed over relatively short geological time scales via thermogenic processes and often...

The potential utilization of cyanobacteria for the biological production of alkanes represents an exceptional system for the next generation of biofuels. Here, we analyzed a diverse group of freshwater and marine cyanobacterial isolates from Indian culture collections for their ability to produce both alkanes and alkenes. Among the 50 cyanobacterial isolates screened, 32 isolates; 14 freshwater...

Long-chain alkanes are a major component of crude oil and therefore potentially good indicators of hydrocarbon spills. Here we present a set of new bacterial bioreporters and assays that allow to detect long-chain alkanes. These reporters are based on the regulatory protein AlkS and the alkB1 promoter from Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, a widespread alkane degrader in marine habitats. Escherichia...