Interactions between oil, dispersants and exopolymeric substances. A review

The interactions between oil, dispersants, and microbial biopolymers, specifically extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), play a crucial role in the fate and behaviour of oil spilled into aquatic environments. This review briefly summarizes oil and dispersed oil characteristics, details our knowledge of EPS with a focus on how chemical composition drives behaviour, and then explores the interactions between oil, EPS and the microbial communities that produce EPS. Existing studies have shown that crude oil and chemical dispersants can significantly influence the self-assembly and aggregation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in marine environments. Oil exposure can directly influence EPS production by altering species' EPS production and indirectly by shifting microbial community composition, affecting EPS production. EPS is vital in phytoplankton and bacterial responses to oil exposure, influencing community composition and survival. Chemically dispersed oil (Cd-oil) can affect EPS composition and functionality differently than oil alone, potentially enhancing protein-rich EPS production, altering EPS equilibrium, and influencing marine organic matter formation and aggregation dynamics.