Genetic potential of oileating bacteria from the bp oil spill decoded microbiologists have discovered the potential of bacteria that helped clean up the bp oil spill. Apr 12, 2018 could hungry bacteria help clean up oil spills. There are microbes that eat and poo nothing but electricity all living cells are ultimately powered by electrons. Plunging down to a depth of about 11,000 m 36,000 ft, the mariana trench is the deepest part. In 2011, cynthia was unleashed in the gulf of mexico and in its initial stages of life it was absorbing oil slicks at breathtaking speed. Aug 26, 2010 bacteria, oil eating ananda mohan chakrabarty pseudomonas bacteria the oil eating bacteria ananda mohan chakrabarty bengali ph. Apr 12, 2019 a new group of oil eating bacteria have been discovered in the mariana trench.
Shaheen jeeawoody j0807 california state science fair. Sugumaran school of chemical and biotechnology, sastra university, thanjavur 6402, tamilnadu, india. Oileating bacteria could be a solution to spill cleanups. Biologists have found an oilhungry bacterium for oil spill. Shaking platform or stir plate with stir bar, glassware, various cooking oils such as vegetable, canola, or olive, balance, distilled water, pipet pumps, and spectrophotometer optional. One bacterium known to have oileating abilities, alcanivorax, was previously thought incapable of consuming the more stable hydrocarbons the spill left behind. Scientists break down oileating microbe scientific american. Oil spills and their impact on the environment are a source of concern for scientists.
Unique oileating bacteria discovered in worlds deepest. Petroleum hydrocarbondegrading bacteria for the remediation of. A temperature of 36c and a ph of 7 to 9 had a faster effect on the biodegradation process. Because oil acts as a food source, its release into an area can increase the number and proportion of oil eating microbes in the water and along the shore. The bacteria used in this experiment are not considered pathogenic.
Scientists oil from the deepwater horizon incident approaches a beach during the summer of 2010. Researchers from the university of quebec have spent the past several years searching for the perfect strain of bacteria to munch up large. Oileating bacteria found at the bottom of the ocean. Sep 12, 2012 naturallyoccurring bacteria gobbled up at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas that spewed into the gulf following the bp deepwater horizon spill, a new study shows. Research on oileating bacteria cambridge forecast group blog. Some advocates online suggest it can treat tooth decay, kill. Oil eating microbes are some of the smallest living things on earth, but they can have a powerful impact. Apr 28, 2015 how microbes helped clean bps oil spill. How microbes helped clean bps oil spill scientific american. In january, 2011 the register reported that scientists were particularly impressed by the speed with which the bacteria was eating up its meal. Moreover, one of the biggest requirements for these microbes to eat hydrocarbons oxygen is not present at all in the sediments of the deep or the muck of louisiana marshes. Students will investigate oil degradation by bacteria in drain cleaners. Apr 08, 20 oil eating bacteria that are abundant in the gulf of mexico may have prevented the 2010 deepwater horizon spill from being more catastrophic, according to new research discussed monday. Impact of oil spills on coral reefs can be reduced by.
Bioengineers rebuilding bacteria to produce crude oil. Bacteria displaying such capabilities are often exploited for the bioremediation of petroleum oilcontaminated environments. Most species get electrons from food, but some bacteria. Leave it open to the air and watch what happens, shake it about once or twice a week. The oil eating bacteria that can clean up crude spills by irina slav apr 11, 2018, 4. Scientists are hoping to combat past and future spills by using oil eating. With nutrients, the percentage of oil degraded reached a maximum and then decreased. Oileating microbes threaten shipwrecks and ocean life live. Apr 12, 2019 unique oileating bacteria discovered in worlds deepest ocean trench. May 07, 2015 five years after the gulf of mexico deepwater horizon oil spill, oil remains on some marshland and inside plant tissues. An oileating bacterium that can clean up pollution and spills.
Oileating microbes seen as possible solution to spill. The oil eating bacteria that can clean up crude spills. At the time, four known species of oil metabolizing bacteria were known to exist, but when introduced into an oil spill. Fatty acids broken down into carbon and energy citric acid cycle occurs never been used due to ethical problems slime or jelly health problems these bacteria are. Aabaco environmental industries spill cleanup products. Dec 14, 2015 impact of oil spills on coral reefs can be reduced by bioremediation using probiotic microbiota skip to main content thank you for visiting. They will determine the number of active microbes in the sample using the standard bacterial plate counts and the tetrazolium indicator. Port aransas, texas microbiologists at the university of texas at austin and their colleagues have cracked the genetic code of how bacteria broke down oil to help clean up. Genetic potential of oileating bacteria from the bp oil.
Two examples are nylon eating bacteria and plastic eating bacteria. Oil eating microbes threaten shipwrecks and ocean life. Isolation, purification and characterization of oil degrading bacteria. Scientific research has shown that an array of marine bacteria can break down the longchain carbon molecules present in oil. There are at least seven species of ocean bacteria that can survive by eating oil and nothing else. Bacteria sucked up 200,000 tons of oil after bp spill live. Meet the microbes eating the gulf oil spill slide show. Oct 20, 2009 they play an important role in the clean. Professor terry hazen, an environmental microbiologist, described these organisms as oilseeking missiles. The purpose of my project was to investigate the bioremediation effectiveness of oil eating bacteria under various environmental conditions. In fact, theyre getting so good at it that they can coax the bacteria into producing a substance thats exceptionally close to crude oil minus the sulfur impurities that taint the oil we. Alcanivorax borkumensis is a rodshaped bacteria that relies on oil to provide it with energy. The contamination cleanup strategy called bioremediationusing naturally occurring or genetically modified microbes to clean up our messesis gaining steam, as scientists devise new ways to.
Oil eating microbes living on the upper layers of the beach can break down oil. Oil eating bacteria found at the bottom of the ocean we know more about mars than the deepest part of the ocean, researcher xiaohua zhang said. Apr, 2018 various websites advocate coconut oil pulling as an effective way to whiten teeth and remove bacteria. We are talking about the first synthetic bacteria cynthia, created to combat oil pollution in the gulf of mexico which, according to the various reports that are often ignored by the corporate media, has mutated and has started attacking animals and humans. Genetic potential of oil eating bacteria from the bp oil spill decoded 9 may 2016 surface oil slick from the deepwater horizon oil spill. These disasters occur on a regular basis, leading to messy decontamination challenges that require massive investments of time and resources. Oil fields occur typically at several thousand metres below ground and, at temperatures of 6090c, are considered sterile. Studies have focused on identifying and characterizing these oil. Various websites advocate coconut oil pulling as an effective way to whiten teeth and remove bacteria. Microbial corrosion can also apply to plastics, concrete, and many other materials. An experimental study for crude oil biodegradation in contaminated.
Wipe down the lab bench with a 10% bleach solution or a laboratory disinfectant. What they were actually doing was merely enhancing the natural process. Spraying areas of contamination with oil eating microbes accelerates the degradation of the oil. Pdf oileating bacteria alcanivorax borkumensis heather miller. Research, including this latest study, has identified. Bioremediation and biodegradation whos doing most of the dirty work 2 oil in our oceans the good earth. Oileating bacteria discovered at the bottom of the mariana. Apr 30, 2011 bioremediation is the use of microorganism metabolism to remove pollutants. However, usually only a small number of oil eating bacteria live in any given part of the ocean, and it takes a few days for their population to increase to take advantage of their abundant new food source during an oil spill. Now this highly lethal microorganism is on its way to europe. Instructions, oileating microbes powder, growth media, petri plates, 1n hcl, 1m naoh, tetrazolium indicator powder, ph paper, and pipets.
Oileating microbes live in all waters and climates. Since oil is a great food source for microbes, many different types primarily bacteria and fungi have evolved to break down oil into carbon dioxide and water. Meet the microbes eating the gulf oil spill slide show these microscopic life forms are blooming as a result of the oil spilled into the gulf of mexico from the macondo 252 deepsea well. Oileating bacteria discovered in the deepest part of the. Eat, consume, metabolize, degrade, breakdown what are the microbes doing to the oil anyway. These bacteria are oleophilic bacteria or oil eating microbes oem. Bacteria are singlecelled organisms that exist in their millions, in every environment, inside or outside other organisms. For oil spill bioremediation, there are natural and bio engineered bacteria of the class, pseudomonas. That is why oil from the macondo well persists in those places five years laterand perhaps for eons to come. Some advocates online suggest it can treat tooth decay, kill bad breath, heal bleeding gums. The reason i did this experiment was to determine if oil eating bacteria is an efficient and quick way to remove oil. In this exploration, students experimentally determine the optimum conditions for microbes to break down the components of oil.
Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. With our oil eating microbes, well absorb anything, anytime, anywhere. Pdf oileating bacteria alcanivorax borkumensis heather. Oileating bacteria mitigated deepwater horizon oil. Oil eating microbes seen as possible solution to spill. From it different cultures were isolated and each was separately grown.
I also found that all soils, except for the homemade compost, contained oileating bacteria in varying amounts, with the most bacteria in the gas station soil sample. This clan of oil eating microbes can be found from cold arctic and antarctic waters to the balmy seas of the gulf of mexico. In the early stages, certain gaseous or aromatic components of the oil, such as benzene, are toxic to cells. Apr 10, 2018 genetic potential of oil eating bacteria from the bp oil spill decoded. Various corrosion inhibitors can be used to combat microbial corrosion. There are microbes that eat and poo nothing but electricity. Formulae based on benzalkonium chloride are common in oilfield industry. Genetic potential of oileating bacteria from the bp oil spill decoded 9 may 2016 surface oil slick from the deepwater horizon oil spill. Bioremediation by oil eating microbes are acknowledged to be the most ecofriendly and sustainable technology in the present world. In this openended experiment, students will grow a mixture of oil eating bacteria and observe their effectiveness at degrading a variety of oils. Others, like neptuniibacter, werent known to be involved with degrading oil in the gulf. A research team from the united kingdom, russia, and china discovered an enormous population of oil eating microbes in the marianas trench, the deepest point in the worlds oceans. Seeking a solution, researchers are now studying alcanivorax borkumensis, a bacterium that feeds on hydrocarbons.
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