{"633949":{"#nid":"633949","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Deepwater Horizon and the Rise of the Omics: A Decade of Breakthroughs in Microbial Science","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EApril 20, 2010: The Gulf of Mexico becomes an ecological disaster zone.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAn explosion on the Deepwater Horizon marine oil platform leased by British Petroleum kills 11 workers and sends thousands of barrels of crude oil pumping into the water, all just 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill\u0022\u003EAt its peak\u003C\/a\u003E, it was estimated that 60,000 barrels of oil a day went into the Gulf, creating a 57,000 square-mile slick and causing damage to more than 1,000 miles of shoreline.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDeepwater\u0026rsquo;s 10th anniversary is a chance to recall compelling videos and interviews regarding the world\u0026rsquo;s worst environmental disaster. But advances in microbial research have also helped scientists learn more about the ecological effects of the spill, according to an article written by a Georgia Tech professor for a top scientific magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eos.org\/features\/deepwater-horizon-and-the-rise-of-the-omics\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Deepwater Horizon and the Rise of the Omics,\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E written by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka\u0022\u003EJoel Kostka\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;professor and associate chair in\u0026nbsp;the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, with co-authors Samantha Joye and Rita Colwell, is featured in the April 2020 issue of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eos.org\/\u0022\u003EEos\u003C\/a\u003E, the research magazine of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.agu.org\/\u0022\u003EAmerican Geophysical Union\u003C\/a\u003E. The AGU has more than 60,000 members, and it is one of the largest scientific organizations in the world (College of Sciences Dean \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/about\/meet-susan-lozier\u0022\u003ESusan Lozier\u003C\/a\u003E is AGU\u0026rsquo;s president-elect).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EMicrobial Genomics for Coastline Cleanups\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka, who researches microbial ecology, is currently studying Deepwater\u0026rsquo;s legacy of microbial genomics for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gulfresearchinitiative.org\/\u0022\u003EGulf of Mexico Research Initiative,\u003C\/a\u003E or GoMRI, a $500-million effort funded by British Petroleum. The GoMRI has already supported thousands of research scientists, Kostka says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Today scientists have the gene sequencing techniques to properly study the role microbes play and the mechanisms with which they break down oil \u0026mdash; with the hope that one day we might be able to deploy them deliberately to protect or restore the environment around a spill,\u0026rdquo; writes Heather Goss, Eos editor-in-chief, in her \u0026ldquo;From The Editor\u0026rdquo; introduction in the magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EA Decade of Omics, Environmental Microbiology Evolution\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe previous record-holder for environmental disaster before Deepwater Horizon was the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989. At that time, \u0026ldquo;environmental microbiology was a relatively nascent field,\u0026rdquo; writes Kostka, who is also Associate Chair of Research in the School of Biological Sciences.\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;But in the past decade, a variety of so-called omics techniques, focused on parsing the genetic makeup of cells, have emerged and offered researchers powerful new ways to study microbial communities and the roles played by specific groups of microbes.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOmics refers to the suffix applied to relative new fields within biological sciences, including genomics, the study of genomic structures and processes. \u0026ldquo;The DWH spill was also the first major environmental disaster for which genomics technologies had matured to such an extent that they could be deployed to quantify microbial responses over large spatial and temporal scales,\u0026rdquo; Kostka writes. \u0026ldquo;As a result, the field of environmental genomics matured during the past decade in parallel with the DWH response. Technical advances in genomics enabled direct, comprehensive analyses of the microbes in their natural habitat, be it oil-contaminated or uncontaminated seawater or sediments. Researchers studying the effects of the DWH spill presided over an explosion of microbial genomics data that enabled major advances in oil spill science and allowed scientists to ask, \u0026lsquo;What microbes are there?\u0026rsquo; in complex communities in unprecedented detail.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka adds that combining genomics with knowledge and tools from other disciplines, including biogeochemistry and oceanography, have allowed scientists to \u0026ldquo;identify disturbances that might otherwise go unnoticed\u0026rdquo; by looking for microbial populations that represent bioindicators of ecosystems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;With these efforts, global ecosystems can be better protected and, when necessary, restored in the face of diverse environmental stressors,\u0026rdquo; Kostka says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EAdditional Deepwater Research: Superbugs, Biomarkers\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough microbes have been used to help clean up spills, current methods are expensive and not natural to the environment being cleaned. But scientists have isolated a \u0026ldquo;superbug\u0026rdquo; that, while belonging to the same genus as E. coli and Salmonella, could also help break down petroleum products in multiple, different environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBetter study of the organisms, genes, and metabolic pathways in microbial communities allow scientists to use them as biomarkers, giving them information on the health of an ecosystem \u0026ldquo;like a blood test can point physicians to disease diagnosis and treatment options,\u0026rdquo; Kostka writes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The overall goal of this work is to chart a course for future research on using microbial genomics to understand fundamental change in the oceans due to disturbances such as climate change or oil spills,\u0026rdquo; he says.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ERead more about Kostka\u0026rsquo;s research and findings in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eos.org\/features\/deepwater-horizon-and-the-rise-of-the-omics\u0022\u003EEos magazine\u003C\/a\u003E. Read the Spanish version of the Eos magazine article: \u0026quot;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eos.org\/features\/deepwater-horizon-la-plataforma-petrolera-y-el-surgimiento-de-las-tecnicas-omicas\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDeepwater Horizon: La Plataforma Petrolera y el Surgimiento de las T\u0026eacute;cnicas \u0026Oacute;micas\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026quot;.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Eos article led by Joel Kostka spotlights ten years of advances in genomics, analysis of how ecosystems react to oil spills"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new article from Georgia Tech professor Joel Kostka highlights the advances made in microbial science in the 10 years since the\u0026nbsp;Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the world\u0026#39;s worst environmental disaster.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Eos article led by Joel Kostka spotlights ten years of advances in genomics, analysis of how ecosystems react to oil spills"}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2020-03-31 18:54:58","changed_gmt":"2020-06-08 21:32:40","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-03-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-03-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"633952":{"id":"633952","type":"image","title":"A sheen of oil coats the surface of the Gulf of Mexico in June 2010, as ships work to help control the Deepwater Horizon spill. Credit: kris kr\u00fcg, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0\/Eos Magazine","body":null,"created":"1585682089","gmt_created":"2020-03-31 19:14:49","changed":"1585682089","gmt_changed":"2020-03-31 19:14:49","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241222","name":"Gulf oil slick.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gulf%20oil%20slick.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gulf%20oil%20slick.png","mime":"image\/png","size":663100,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Gulf%20oil%20slick.png?itok=oWyKLNQb"}},"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:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Oil%20microbes.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1014282,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Oil%20microbes.png?itok=0VsU4ezf"}},"633953":{"id":"633953","type":"image","title":"Jonathan Delgardio and Will Overholt of the Georgia Institute of Technology sample sand layers on 20 October 2010 at Pensacola Beach, Fla., which was heavily polluted by weathered oil after Deepwater Horizon discharge. Photo:Markus Huettel\/Eos Magazine","body":null,"created":"1585682308","gmt_created":"2020-03-31 19:18:28","changed":"1585682334","gmt_changed":"2020-03-31 19:18:54","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241223","name":"Beach sampling.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Beach%20sampling.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Beach%20sampling.png","mime":"image\/png","size":355314,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Beach%20sampling.png?itok=Xsydwawx"}},"633954":{"id":"633954","type":"image","title":"Researchers gathered samples of microbial communities in layers of sand containing oil.(Credit: Markus Huettel)","body":null,"created":"1585682698","gmt_created":"2020-03-31 19:24:58","changed":"1585682698","gmt_changed":"2020-03-31 19:24:58","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241225","name":"Beach layers.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Beach%20layers.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Beach%20layers.png","mime":"image\/png","size":933428,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Beach%20layers.png?itok=lsmHF40m"}},"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:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Joel%20Kostka%20classroom.png","mime":"image\/png","size":291075,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Joel%20Kostka%20classroom.png?itok=QnHqk0-8"}}},"media_ids":["633952","633951","633953","633954","633955"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill","title":"Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill"},{"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":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/digging-climate-clues-peat-moss","title":"Joel Kostka ScienceMatters podcast: Digging Up Climate Clues in Peat Moss"},{"url":"https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/features\/shaking-sleeping-bog-monster","title":"Shaking a Sleeping Bog Monster: Research Horizons"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/research\/cimage\/cimage.html","title":"Joel Kostka Laboratory: Microbial Ecology"},{"url":"https:\/\/gulfresearchinitiative.org\/","title":"Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"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":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"20131","name":"Joel Kostka"},{"id":"12159","name":"Deepwater Horizon"},{"id":"184352","name":"microbial science"},{"id":"184353","name":"microbial ecology"},{"id":"1896","name":"Genomics"},{"id":"184359","name":"Omics"}],"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","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}