Unravelling secrets of oil eating bacteria

In the spirit of gaining at least some benefit from a major disaster, a group of scientists from the University of Texas, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, has been using samples of oil contaminated water, gathered from the Gulf of Mexico shortly after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, to piece together the genomes of oil consuming bacteria that occur naturally in seawater. Some results from the research were published in the May 9 issue of Nature Microbiology.

The use of dispersants that break up an oil slick into tiny droplets for distribution through the water column and subsequent consumption by bacteria became a prime tool during the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A better understanding of the manner in which these bacteria operate could aid in responding to future offshore oil spills through more effective bioremediation strategies, according to a press release associated with the Nature Microbiology paper.

The researchers have found that different bacteria attack different components of the complex mix of hydrocarbons found in crude oil. Thus, an equally complex community of oil-degrading bacteria is required to attack spilled oil. The research found that the community of various bacteria changed in response to the microbial degradation of the oil.

And, according to the press release, the research is providing insights into the pathways that different bacteria use to attack different hydrocarbon chemicals. One intriguing finding indicates that some bacteria attack oil dispersants as well as the oil, thus potentially rendering the dispersants ineffective.

- ALAN BAILEY