Newfound gene may help bacteria survive in extreme environments: Resulting microbial lipids may also signify oxygen dips in Earth's history
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - 11:33
in Biology & Nature
A newfound gene may help bacteria survive in extreme environments. In the days following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, methane-eating bacteria bloomed in the Gulf of Mexico, feasting on the methane that gushed, along with oil, from the damaged well. The sudden influx of microbes was a scientific curiosity: Prior to the oil spill, scientists had observed relatively few signs of methane-eating microbes in the area.