Alcanivorax Borkumensis

With the increase in the use of fossil fuels for the past century, oil spills in the
ocean have occurred countless times. The emission of toxic waste in the ocean can end
up destroying an entire food chain of aquatic life. As much as humans are trying to
minimize the number of pollutants that get released in the water, it is still killing
marine life. Alcanivorax Borkumensis is a bacterium that helps clean the toxic waste in
the oceans.

Oil spills are an example of sea pollution. Oil spills may take place as a result of
the release of crude oil from tankers in the ships and offshore platforms. For the past
century, many cases of oil spills including Deepwater Horizon in 2010 and the Persian
Gulf War oil spill in 1991 have been reported, affecting marine life. For example, the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Mexico spread at 1300 m depth and more than 2100 km
of shoreline, contaminating and affecting countless deep-water habitats.1 Oil released
in the water destroys the insulating ability of fur mammals. The furs provide mammals
such as otters and birds insulation. When the chemical composition of oil mixes with
the water, a substance is known as “mousse” is created. Mousse is a substance stickier
than the oil itself, causing it to stick on the furs of the mammals. This exposes the birds
to the cold water, causing them to die from hypothermia. Fishes and corals come in
contact with oil when it is mixed into the water column. Oil causes reduced growth, fin
erosion, and changes in respiration rates for fishes. Contaminated fish can be unsafe
for humans to eat. 2 3

The number of oil spill cases have drastically decreased since 1970, with only
around 5 oil spills reported in 2016 worldwide compared to a 115-oil spill case
reported in 1974 (see Figure 1). However, many of the oil spills that have occurred can
still affect marine life as the oil remains on some marshland and inside plant tissues.
Alcanvirox Borkumensis is a type of bacteria that uses oil to provide it with energy. It is
a rod-shaped marine bacterium. The bacteria of the genus Alcanivorax belongs to a
group of slow-growing hydrocarbon clastic bacteria. This group consists of other
bacterial genera and they use hydrocarbons as energy sources.4 The enzyme,
benzylsuccinate synthase which is naturally occurring within the microbe acts as a
catalyst and encourages the reaction between the substrate molecule present in the

1
Beyer, Jonny, et al. “Environmental Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Review.”
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Pergamon, 11 June 2016,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X16304313. Accessed Apr 28. 2020.
2
US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “How
Does Oil Impact Marine Life?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 14 Mar. 2019,
oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oilimpacts.html. Accessed Apr 28.2020.
3
Chavis, Jason. “The Effects of Oil Spills.” Sciencing, 22 Nov. 2019, sciencing.com/effects-oil-
spills-5134989.html. Accessed Apr 28.2020.
microbe, fumarate and toluene, a hydrocarbon found in crude oil. This reaction
generates benzylsuccinate.5

Fig1.1 Graph showing the number of oil spill cases as the years pass 6

The advantages of A. Bokumensis are that they can quickly adapt when oil is
present in the ocean, and it thrives around all oceans worldwide. However, it is not yet
clear on weather it is harmful to humans or not, thus precautions must be made when
purchasing the strain. The use of A. Bokumensis in the oceans is far from enough in
order to completely degrade oils in the ocean, thus more bacteria needs to be
genetically engineered. In addition, some oils that are released in the ocean are too big
for the microbes to consume them. 7

In order to imporve the oil-consuming bacteria naturally found in the oceans,

scientists have been sequencing the genome of the oil-eating microbe in order to
control its power and help clean up future oil spills in a more efficient way. On their

4
Schneiker, Susanne, et al. “Genome Sequence of the Ubiquitous Hydrocarbon-Degrading
Marine Bacterium Alcanivorax Borkumensis.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 30 July
2006, www.nature.com/articles/nbt1232. Accessed Apr 28.2020.
5
McCaffrey, Francesca, and MIT Energy Initiative. “Using Microbes to Clean up Oil Spills.” MIT
News, 19 Oct. 2015, news.mit.edu/2015/using-microbes-clean-oil-spills. Accessed Apr 28.2020.
6
Roser, Max. “Oil Spills.” Our World in Data, 5 Mar. 2013, ourworldindata.org/oil-spills.
Accessed Apr 28.2020.
7
Biello, David. “How Microbes Helped Clean BP's Oil Spill.” Scientific American, Scientific
American, 28 Apr. 2015, www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-microbes-helped-clean-bp-s-
oil-spill/. Accessed Apr 28.2020.
own, microbes would take millions of years to clean up the mess humans have made
but by genetically engineering the microbes, we can help speed up the process. 8

8
Biello, David. “Scientists Break Down Oil-Eating Microbe.” Scientific American, Scientific
American, 31 July 2006, www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-break-down-oil/.
Accessed Apr 28.2020.
 Works Cited

Beyer, Jonny, et al. “Environmental Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A

Review.” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Pergamon, 11 June 2016,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X16304313. Accessed Apr 28.

2020.

Biello, David. “Scientists Break Down Oil-Eating Microbe.” Scientific American, Scientific

American, 31 July 2006, www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-break-down-

oil/. Accessed Apr 28.2020.

Biello, David. “How Microbes Helped Clean BP's Oil Spill.” Scientific American,

Scientific American, 28 Apr. 2015, www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-microbes-

helped-clean-bp-s-oil-spill/. Accessed Apr 28.2020.

Chavis, Jason. “The Effects of Oil Spills.” Sciencing, 22 Nov. 2019, sciencing.com/effects-

oil-spills-5134989.html. Accessed Apr 28.2020.

McCaffrey, Francesca, and MIT Energy Initiative. “Using Microbes to Clean up Oil

Spills.” MIT News, 19 Oct. 2015, news.mit.edu/2015/using-microbes-clean-oil-spills.

Accessed Apr 28.2020.

Roser, Max. “Oil Spills.” Our World in Data, 5 Mar. 2013, ourworldindata.org/oil-spills.

Accessed Apr 28.2020.

Schneiker, Susanne, et al. “Genome Sequence of the Ubiquitous Hydrocarbon-Degrading

Marine Bacterium Alcanivorax Borkumensis.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group,

30 July 2006, www.nature.com/articles/nbt1232. Accessed Apr 28.2020.

US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“How Does Oil Impact Marine Life?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 14 Mar. 2019,

oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oilimpacts.html. Accessed Apr 28.2020.