Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in deep sea sediments: Microbe–pollutant interactions in a remote environment

• PAH tend to accumulate in DSS
• High hydrostatic pressure and low temperature adversely affect PAH biodegradation in DSS
• DSS bacterial communities house distinct among strains, catabolic genes, enzymes and pathways
• We review the impact of DSS bacteria on PAH degradation under current and future climate scenarios.
• Future climate scenarios may indirectly affect PAH biodegradation in DSS.

Recalcitrant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) released into seawater end up in the deep sea sediments (DSSs). However, their fate here is often oversimplified by theoretical models. Biodegradation of PAHs in DSSs, is assumed to be similar to biodegradation in surface habitats, despite high hydrostatic pressures and low temperatures that should significantly limit PAH biodegradation. Bacteria residing in the DSSs (related mainly to α- and γ-Proteobacteria) have been shown to or predicted to possess distinct genes, enzymes and metabolic pathways, indicating an adaptation of these bacterial communities to the psychro-peizophilic conditions of the DSSs. This work summarizes some of the most recent research on DSS hydrocarbonoclastic populations and mechanisms of PAH degradation and discusses the challenges posed by future high CO2 and UV climate scenarios on biodegradation of PAHs in DSSs.