Also: Alcanivorax borkumensis, hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, bioremediation, Deepwater Horizon, Chakrabarty Pseudomonas
Some marine bacteria feed on oil. Alcanivorax borkumensis blooms after spills. Microbes helped break down Deepwater Horizon oil and gas (2010). Ananda Chakrabarty engineered Pseudomonas to digest oil components; the US Supreme Court ruled in Diamond v. Chakrabarty (1980) that living engineered organisms can be patented.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
Yakimov and colleagues described Alcanivorax borkumensis, a new hydrocarbon-degrading, surfactant-producing marine bacterium.
As reported in: Yakimov, Golyshin, Lang et al. (1998). Alcanivorax borkumensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new, hydrocarbon-degrading and surfactant-producing marine bacterium. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. doi:10.1099/00207713-48-2-339
Abstract only
Schneiker and colleagues sequenced the genome of A. borkumensis to explain its oil-degrading lifestyle.
As reported in: Schneiker, dos Santos, Bartels et al. (2006). Genome sequence of the ubiquitous hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis. Nature Biotechnology. doi:10.1038/nbt1232
Hazen and colleagues found the deep-sea oil plume enriched native oil-degrading bacteria.
As reported in: Hazen, Dubinsky, DeSantis et al. (2010). Deep-Sea Oil Plume Enriches Indigenous Oil-Degrading Bacteria. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1195979
Kessler and colleagues found bacteria consumed most methane released from Deepwater Horizon.
As reported in: Kessler, Valentine, Redmond et al. (2011). A Persistent Oxygen Anomaly Reveals the Fate of Spilled Methane in the Deep Gulf of Mexico. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1199697
Abstract only
Mason and colleagues used metagenomics and single-cell sequencing to show how microbes responded to the oil.
As reported in: Mason, Hazen, Borglin et al. (2012). Metagenome, metatranscriptome and single-cell sequencing reveal microbial response to Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The ISME Journal. doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.59
Kellogg, Chatterjee and Chakrabarty bred bacteria with combined plasmids to break down persistent toxic chemicals, extending their earlier oil-degrading Pseudomonas work.
As reported in: Kellogg, Chatterjee, Chakrabarty (1981). Plasmid-Assisted Molecular Breeding: New Technique for Enhanced Biodegradation of Persistent Toxic Chemicals. Science. doi:10.1126/science.7302584
Abstract only