WASHINGTON — A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe is suddenly flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists discovered the microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the gulf after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
An added bonus: The microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers led by Terry Hazen at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California reported Tuesday in Sciencexpress, the online edition of the journal Science.
Hazen said in a statement that the findings “provide the first data ever on microbial activity from a deep-water dispersed oil plume” and suggest a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep sea.
Environmentalists have raised concerns about the giant oil spill and the underwater plume of dispersed oil, particularly its potential effects on sea life. A report just last week described a 22-mile-long underwater mist of oil droplets.
“Our findings show that the influx of oil profoundly altered the microbial community” by significantly stimulating deep-sea cold-temperature bacteria that are closely related to known petroleum-degrading microbes, Hazen reported.
The findings are based on more than 200 samples collected from 17 deep-water sites between May 25 and June 2. They found that the dominant microbe in the oil plume is a new species, closely related to members of Oceanospirillales. Hazen suggested that the bacteria may have adapted over time due to periodic leaks and natural seeps of oil in the gulf.
