Editing Extremophile (section)

=== Hydrocarbons ===
There are multiple potential destinations for hydrocarbons after an oil spill has settled and currents routinely deposit them in extreme environments. Methane bubbles resulting from the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill]] were found 1.1 kilometers below water surface level and at concentrations as high as 183 ''μ''mol per kilogram.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reddy |first1=C. M. |last2=Arey |first2=J. S. |last3=Seewald |first3=J. S. |last4=Sylva |first4=S. P. |last5=Lemkau |first5=K. L. |last6=Nelson |first6=R. K. |last7=Carmichael |first7=C. A. |last8=McIntyre |first8=C. P. |last9=Fenwick |first9=J. |last10=Ventura |first10=G. T. |last11=Van Mooy |first11=B. A. S. |author-link11=Benjamin Van Mooy |date=2011-07-18 |title=Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=109 |issue=50 |pages=20229–34 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1101242108 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3528605 |pmid=21768331 |doi-access=free}}</ref>  The combination of low temperatures and high pressures in this environment result in low microbial activity. However, bacteria that are present including species of ''[[Pseudomonas]]'', ''[[Aeromonas]]'' and ''[[Vibrio]]'' were found to be capable of bioremediation, albeit at a tenth of the speed they would perform at sea level pressure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Margesin |first1=R. |last2=Schinner |first2=F. |date=2001-09-01 |title=Biodegradation and bioremediation of hydrocarbons in extreme environments |journal=Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology |volume=56 |issue=5–6 |pages=650–63 |doi=10.1007/s002530100701 |issn=0175-7598 |pmid=11601610 |s2cid=13436065}}</ref> [[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s increase in solubility and bioavailability with increasing temperature.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Thermophilic ''[[Thermus]]'' and ''[[Bacillus]]'' species have demonstrated higher gene expression for the alkane mono-oxygenase ''[[alkB]]'' at temperatures exceeding {{Cvt|60|C}}.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} The expression of this gene is a crucial precursor to the bioremediation process. Fungi that have been genetically modified with cold-adapted enzymes to tolerate differing pH levels and temperatures have been shown to be effective at remediating hydrocarbon contamination in freezing conditions in the Antarctic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=Alysson Wagner Fernandes |last2=dos Santos |first2=Juliana Aparecida |last3=Vianna |first3=Marina Vitti |last4=Vieira |first4=Juliana Maíra Freitas |last5=Mallagutti |first5=Vitor Hugo |last6=Inforsato |first6=Fabio José |last7=Wentzel |first7=Lia Costa Pinto |last8=Lario |first8=Luciana Daniela |last9=Rodrigues |first9=Andre |last10=Pagnocca |first10=Fernando Carlos |last11=Pessoa Junior |first11=Adalberto |date=2017-12-11 |title=Cold-adapted enzymes produced by fungi from terrestrial and marine Antarctic environments |journal=Critical Reviews in Biotechnology |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=600–19 |doi=10.1080/07388551.2017.1379468 |issn=0738-8551 |pmid=29228814 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11449/175619 |s2cid=4201439}}</ref>