The microbial hydrocarbon diet

June 11, 2009

Bioremediation of industrial sites and petrochemical spillages often involves finding microbes that can gorge themselves on the toxic chemicals. This leaves behind a non-toxic residue or mineralized material. Writing in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, researchers in China describe studies of a new microbe that can digest hydrocarbons.

Hong-Qi Wang and Yan-Jun Chen College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, working with Bo-Ya Qin of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, have investigated the activity of enzymes from the bacterium Bacillus cereus DQ01, which can digest the hydrocarbon n-hexadecane. The bacterium was initially isolated from the Daqing oil field in North East China where it had evolved the ability to metabolize this chemical.

Bioremediation of hydrocarbons usually involves the application of a cultured bacterium that has been optimized to feed on the specific contaminants, such as particular hydrocarbons. The are cultured first in the presence of sugar or another standard feedstuff in conjunction with a small amount of the pollutant material. Successive generations are fed an increasing proportion of the pollutant until their growth is optimized for digestion of that compound rather than the sugar.

These optimized microbes are applied to the contamination site or spill in large but controlled volumes and digest their way through the pollutant material, multiplying and digesting until no pollutant remains. The byproducts are non-toxic carbon dioxide and water, and mineralized matter.

The team has now found the optimal conditions for the Daqing microbe to feast on , which could point the way to a more effective approach to bioremediation of spill sites.

The key step in the degradation of hydrocarbons normally depends on the presence of a multi-component enzyme system, the team explains. Understanding exactly which components are needed for degradation and the temperature and pH of the soil best suited to the process could help researchers develop the perfect microbial cleanup culture.

The team has now found that enzymes within the microbial cell and in its membrane inner membrane are responsible for degradation of n-hexadecane. The team found that neutral pH and a temperature of 30 Celsius are optimal for the microbe to produce the main degradation enzyme. They also point out that adding a small amount of a surfactant material, rhamnolipid, can also stimulate enzyme production and improve degradation efficiency.

Source: Inderscience Publishers (news : web)

4.2 /5 (5 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

PinkElephant
Jun 11, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
I've heard that mycoremediation is a more effective and productive method than bacterial bioremediation, particularly when it comes to cleanup of oil and oil-derived chemicals. For a bit more info:

http://en.wikiped...ediation

http://www.fungi....ova.html
deatopmg
Jun 11, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Search for; "TED" and "Paul Stamets", and watch how oyster mushroom spawn cleans up heavy hydrocarbon spills w/o any pre-conditioning. returns the soil to better than before contamination condition.
DeistUntilTheDayIDie
Aug 02, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
"The bacterium was initially isolated from the Daqing oil field in North East China where it had evolved the ability to metabolize this chemical."

It's sad to see people still don't understand evolution. The bacterium didn't evolve to live in the oil, it evolved the ability to survive in the oil, and so we find them living there. If they had actually "evolved to live there" we would be praising LeMark for his theory that the Giraffe evolved an elongated neck to reach higher branches. Now conditioning is a whole different matter, thats evidence of evolution at its finest. Those that survive the conditioning are the fittest.
Rank 4.2 /5 (5 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Protease cleavage
    created4 hours ago
  • Pertubance in a model
    created10 hours ago
  • Cancer drugs and Alzheimer's, Oh my!
    created19 hours ago
  • Squishing cells
    created19 hours ago
  • Any books/articles for evolutionary stable strategy models in humans?
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • Science behind the bore feeling?
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Biology

More news stories

The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males

A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Grass to gas: Researchers' genome map speeds biofuel development

Researchers at the University of Georgia have taken a major step in the ongoing effort to find sources of cleaner, renewable energy by mapping the genomes of two originator cells of Miscanthus x giganteus, a large perenn ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created 5 hours ago | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Experts reveal how plants don't get sunburn

(PhysOrg.com) -- Experts at the University of Glasgow have discovered how plants survive the harmful rays of the sun.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Protein libraries in a snap

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Rice University undergraduate will depart with not only a degree but also a possible patent for his invention of an efficient way to create protein libraries, an important component of biomolecular ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created 12 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Miami battling invasion of giant African snails

No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African giant snails has southern Florida in a panic over potential crop damage, disease and general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods.

Biology / Ecology

created 12 hours ago | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 4


Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets

Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.

CIA website offline, Anonymous takes credit

The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was unresponsive on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.

NASA sees wide-eyed cyclone Jasmine

Cyclone Jasmine's eye has opened wider on NASA satellite imagery, as it moves through the Southern Pacific Ocean.

Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins

Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. ...

NASA sees Giovanna reach cyclone strength, threaten Madagascar

Tropical Storm 12S built up steam and became a cyclone on February 10, 2012 as NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead. Residents of east-central Madagascar should prepare for this cyclone to make landfall ...

Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system

(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...