
Marine bacteria in the frigid waters of the Canadian Arctic are capable of biodegrading oil and diesel fuel, according to a new study published online on August 11, 2021 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The article is titled “Biodegradation of Diesel and Crude Oil by Labrador Sea Cold Adapted Microbial Communities.” Genomic sequencing revealed unexpected potential for hydrocarbon bioremediation in lineages of bacteria including Paraperlucidibaca, Cycloclasticus, and Zhongshania, said coauthor Casey Hubert, PhD, Associate Professor of Geomicrobiology, University of Calgary. These “may represent key players in the response to Arctic marine oil spills.”
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