This bacterium, which destroyed the effects of the largest oil spill
Scientists from the National laboratory behalf of the Lawrence Berkeley have identified all the main Nefterazvedka bacteria, and mechanisms that enabled them to “eat” the various components of crude oil after the Deepwater Horizon. The researchers were able to detect the main party Nefterazvedka process — bacteria Bermanella macondoprimitus. Details can be found in PNAS.
“In the laboratory we simulated conditions of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and were able to understand the mechanisms that help the bacteria to degrade the oil,” — said study author Harry Andersen.
The researchers used samples of seawater to the site of the disaster that occurred in 2010. The examination of samples and simulate the conditions of oil spill experts have found the dominant bacterium, tentatively named Bermanella macondoprimitus that previous research team did not notice. Scientists sequenced the genome of the bacteria and were able to identify the genes responsible for the degradation of different components of oil.
According to the researchers, discovered the very first bacteria began to recycle many of the components of oil.
In addition, B. macondoprimitus very quickly multiplies. Other types of bacteria decompose only the individual oil components.
The researchers noted that the bacterium is almost impossible to move from its natural ecosystem, for example, in a different part of the ocean, or to cultivate in the laboratory. But experts can go to oil-producing platforms to take samples of water and bacteria to sequence their genomes, and thus to look for bacteria that can digest oil if the region happens to spill.