Objectives
General Objective
The project aims to assess the effects of oil contamination on mangroves in Sergipe, Brazil. This will be achieved by developing environmental monitoring protocols to evaluate the impact of the accident on the microbiota, and to evaluate the decontamination potential of the native microbiota, the use of biosurfactants, and their effects on contaminated sediments.
Specific Objectives
- Characterize the microbial community in the study environment using functional and phylogenetic metagenomics;
- Isolate and screen biosurfactant-producing microorganisms and to assess the potential of bioremediating species;
- Enrich biosurfactant-degrading prokaryotes under aerobic and anaerobic conditions;
- Produce biosurfactants by indigenous microorganisms;
- Characterize the biosurfactant potential of indigenous microorganisms in microcosms;
- Evaluate the functional capacity and diversity of the microbial community in microcosms under different treatments;
- Establish a bioremediation protocol based on microcosm treatments;
- Test the applicability of biosurfactants and bioremediators in the field (mesocosms).
