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Ocean Microbes That Eat Oil and Pollution · How To Protect The Ocean

• 0:00
  When oil spills occur, the images that
• 0:02
  dominate the news are
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  coated birds, damaged coastlines,
• 0:06
  and blackened water. But beneath the
• 0:08
  surface, something
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  remarkable often happens.
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  Microbes begin to eat the oil. Within
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  days of the spill, entire microbial
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  communities can shift.
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  Bacteria that were previously rare
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  suddenly multiply, feeding on the
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  hydrocarbons released
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  into the water. Scientists often describe
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  these microbes as
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  "ocean's first responders"
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  because long before humans can deploy
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  cleanup ships or skimmers,
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  microbes are already at work.
• 0:37
  This is the How to Protect the Ocean
• 0:38
  podcast, your weekday news
• 0:40
  update for oceans. If you care
• 0:43
  about staying up informed on the ocean
• 0:45
  every weekday, hit the
• 0:46
  follow button right now so you
• 0:48
  don't miss tomorrow's story. Here's the
• 0:50
  problem. We have ocean
• 0:51
  pollution. It comes in all forms.
• 0:53
  And it's one of the biggest environmental
• 0:54
  challenges facing
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  marine ecosystems. Oil spills
• 0:57
  happen all over the world on a regular
• 0:59
  basis, more than we think. Not
• 1:00
  necessarily large oil spills, although
• 1:02
  those happen, but we start to get a lot
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  of little spills. Oil spills release
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  massive quantities of hydrocarbons into
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  the environments, into
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  any ocean environment.
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  One of the most famous examples of course
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  is the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010,
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  which released about 4.9 million barrels
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  of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it
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  the largest marine
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  oil spill in US history.
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  Oil spreads quickly across the ocean
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  surface, but it also dissolves and
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  dissipates through the water column,
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  exposing fish, plankton, and deep sea
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  ecosystems to toxic compounds. And oil is
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  only one part of the pollution problem.
• 1:38
  The ocean is also accumulating plastic
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  debris, synthetic chemicals, industrial
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  pollutants, and agricultural runoff.
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  Plastics also are estimated to reach 11
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  million metric tons entering the ocean
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  every year, if current trends continue.
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  Many of these pollutants persist for
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  decades or centuries. Traditional cleanup
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  methods such as skimming oil from the
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  surface or collecting debris can help,
• 2:01
  but they are expensive and rarely remove
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  everything. However, the ocean has its
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  own response, microbes.
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  One of the most important discoveries
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  about microbial pollution cleanup came
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  after the deep sea horizon spill.
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  Scientists studying the Gulf of Mexico
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  noticed something unusual.
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  Certain bacteria began to explode in
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  population. Researchers analyzing
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  seawater samples discovered large
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  microbial blooms composed of oil
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  degrading bacteria. These microbes were
• 2:28
  feeding on hydrocarbons released from the
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  spill. The bacteria were not introduced
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  by humans. They were already present in
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  the ocean, waiting for an energy source.
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  When the oil arrived, they multiplied
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  rapidly. Key findings from these studies
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  included oil degrading bacteria increased
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  dramatically in contaminated waters,
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  microbes metabolized hydrocarbons as an
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  energy source, and entire microbial
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  communities reorganized around oil
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  degradation. Several bacteria groups
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  became dominant during the spill.
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  Important genera, and I'm going to try
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  and pronounce this properly, included
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  alkadivorex bacteria specialize in
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  breaking down alkanes, a common type of
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  hydrocarbon found in crude oil.
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  In normal ocean conditions, these
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  microbes are relatively rare, but after
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  oil spills, they can dominate microbial
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  communities. In some contaminated waters,
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  they have been shown to make up up to 90%
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  of microbial populations.
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  Also, there's cycloclasticus. This
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  bacteria targets aromatic hydrocarbons,
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  which are some of the most toxic
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  compounds of crude oil. These compounds
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  include polycyclic aromatic
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  hydrocarbons, often called PAHs.
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  PAHs can damage fish development and
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  accumulate in food webs. Cycloclasticus
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  bacteria break these compounds down,
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  reducing their
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  persistence in the environment.
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  Marineobacter are versatile oil
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  degraders. They can metabolize a wide
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  range of hydrocarbons and often work
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  alongside other microbes in mixed
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  communities. These microbial teams called
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  consorcia collectively break down
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  different parts of the oil mixture.
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  Together, these microbes act like the
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  biochemical cleanup crew. Crude oil is
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  made up of complex hydrocarbon molecules.
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  These molecules store energy, which
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  microbes can use to grow and reproduce.
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  Some bacteria produce specialized enzymes
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  that allow them to break hydrocarbons
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  apart. The process generally works like
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  this. First, the enzymes attack large
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  hydrocarbon molecules. These molecules
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  are broken down into smaller compounds.
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  The bacteria then
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  metabolize these compounds as fuel.
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  Through this metabolism, hydrocarbons are
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  converted into carbon dioxide, water, and
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  new microbial mass. Essentially, microbes
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  are transforming oil into biological
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  material. In some environments, this
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  process can remove a significant portion
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  of spilt oil naturally over time.
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  For example, studies in the Deepwater
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  Horizon Spill suggest that microbial
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  degradation removes large quantities of
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  dissolved hydrocarbons from the deep
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  plume within months. Microbes are
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  therefore acting as
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  chemical recyclers of the ocean.
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  They transform pollutants into compounds
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  that can reenter natural biogeochemical
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  cycles. Scientists are now exploring how
• 5:02
  microbial processes could be enhanced to
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  help clean pollution more effectively.
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  One research also
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  involves bio stimulation.
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  This strategy adds nutrients like
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  nitrogen or phosphorus to polluted waters
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  to stimulate growth of oil-degradating
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  microbes. Because microbial growth is
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  often limited by nutrients, adding small
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  amounts can accelerate biodegradation.
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  This technique was used during the Exxon
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  Valdez oil spill in Alaska, where
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  nutrient fertilizers were applied to
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  contaminated shorelines to stimulate
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  microbial oil degradation.
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  Another emerging field is
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  plastic-degrading microbes. For decades,
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  scientists believed plastics were almost
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  impossible for microbes to digest. But in
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  2016, researchers discovered a bacterium
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  called indionella sakiesis.
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  I butchered that, I apologize. But they
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  could break down PET plastics, the type
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  they are used in many bottles. The
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  bacterium produces enzymes that degrade
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  PET into its chemical building blocks.
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  Researchers are now studying whether
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  similar microbes exist
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  in marine environments.
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  Other studies have identified marine
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  fungi and bacteria capable of slowing
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  degrading polyethylene, the most common
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  plastic in the ocean. Scientists are now
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  exploring microbial consortia, where
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  multiple microbes work together to
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  degrade complex pollutants. One species
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  might break down large plastic polymers,
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  while another consumes smaller fragments.
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  Together, they
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  complete the entire process.
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  The research is still developing, but it
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  could transform how we approach pollution
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  cleanup. Now, I want to just let you know
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  that there are limits. Microbial cleanup
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  is powerful, but it is not a magic
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  solution. Large spills can cause severe
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  ecological damage right off the bat. Oil
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  can smother coral reefs, poison fish
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  larvae, and destroy coastal habitats.
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  And some pollutants are extremely
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  resistant to microbial breakdown.
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  Examples include certain types of
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  plastics, persistent organic pollutants,
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  and heavy metals. In many cases,
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  microbial cleanup can take years or
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  decades. Even after the Deepwater Horizon
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  spill, traces of oil remained in sediment
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  and deep sea ecosystems for years.
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  Microbes help mitigate damage, but they
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  cannot fully reverse it. The best
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  solution to pollution remains prevention.
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  I want to reiterate how important it is
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  to understand how these microbes work,
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  but all in small doses. The immediate
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  effect of having these pollutants in the
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  water can be detrimental to all ocean
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  ecosystems and the
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  species that live within it.
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  This is not a cure and to say, hey, this
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  is how we solve oil spills. This is where
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  we can use oil on a regular basis because
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  we don't have to worry about oil spills
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  anymore. No, this is just what we're
• 7:42
  discovering what happens in the ocean.
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  Maybe in some day, in some cases, we'll
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  be able to get it at some point, but not
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  today, not tomorrow, and
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  not for the near future.
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  We need to divest ourselves away from oil
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  products away from using oil and drilling
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  for oil to protect our
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  oceans for a myriad of reasons.
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  All right. If you love this type of
• 8:04
  episode, if you love this breakdown, if
• 8:05
  you love learning about microbes in the
• 8:07
  ocean and all these different things
• 8:08
  about the ocean, hit that follow button
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  right now. We're trying to get to the top
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  of the charts in almost every country and
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  certain countries were in the
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  top 100, which is fantastic.
• 8:17
  But I want to get to the top. I want you
• 8:19
  guys to help me in each and every one of
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  your countries to get how to protect the
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  ocean to the top. And by doing that, if
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  and build our
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  community, that would be amazing.
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  And I have something for you as a way to
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  interact and the way to talk in just a
• 8:40
  second. If you just let me finish these
• 8:41
  last final thoughts. All right. Microbes
• 8:44
  remind us of something important about
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  the ocean that life evolves solutions to
• 8:48
  environmental challenges. Over millions
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  of years, microbes evolved ways to break
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  down natural hydrocarbons
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  that seep from the sea floor.
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  Today, those same microbes help clean up
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  human pollution with of course some
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  limits. They are part of the oceans
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  resilience, but the resilience has
• 9:04
  limits. Microbes can help repair damage.
• 9:07
  They cannot undo all of it. Tomorrow
• 9:09
  we're going to explore a new frontier.
• 9:11
  Scientists are now engineering microbes
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  to help solve climate challenges. And
• 9:14
  that is where synthetic biology enters
• 9:16
  the ocean conservation.
• 9:17
  So honestly, if you want to help this
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  show grow, if you want to learn more
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  about oceans and you want more people to
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  learn about oceans, hit that follow
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  I started this podcast because when I was
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  a kid that didn't have internet, I had to
• 9:34
  rely on my library that didn't have a lot
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  of information on oceans because I lived
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  in Ontario. I still live in Ontario, but
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  here I am providing you with the
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  feedback. That's speakupforblue.com
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  forward slash feedback.
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  I would love to hear what you have to say
• 10:09
  about microbes in general, the ocean in
• 10:11
  general. If you want to hear a specific
• 10:13
  topic, if you haven't noticed, I've
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  changed obviously things that are going
• 10:16
  on these days. I've been doing four solo
• 10:19
  episodes for Monday to Thursday and an
• 10:21
  interview episode on the Friday. They all
• 10:23
  relate all in one theme. I really like
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  this way of doing this stuff and I'd love
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  to hear your thoughts on this as well. So
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  hit that follow button. Go to
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  speakupforblue.com forward slash
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  feedback. That's speakupforblue.com
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  forward slash feedback. And I want to
• 10:36
  thank you so much for watching. I'm Chris
• 10:40
  Andrew, and I'm your host Andrew Lewin.
• 10:41
  Have a great day. We'll talk to you next
• 10:43
  time and happy conservation.