An epifluorescence microphotograph of a complex bacterial community feasting on or associated with an oil floc (pink). Gammaproteobacteria (green) are the majority of cultured, well-studied alkane- and aromatics-degrading bacteria. Other bacteria (blue) thrive in close association with the oil particle and their gammaproteobacterial neighbors. (Photo by Luke McKay, Montana State University).

Study Analyzes Metabolic Pathways of Oil-Degrading Bacteria

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Researchers analyzed bacterial communities exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil and identified taxa and genes associated with oil degradation and assimilation. The scientists found that Marinobacter and Alcanivorax dominated alkane-degrading communities, while Alteromonadales, Oceanospirillales, and Rhodospirillales dominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading communities.