Scientists have discovered the oil-drinking bacteria in the Marianna Trench, the deepest part of the Earth’s oceans, which can help to remove the oil extracted from the water permanently. The Mariana Trench is located at a depth of about 11,000 meters in the Western Pacific Ocean. Shio Huang Zhang of China’s ‘Ocean University’ who led the study said, “We know more about Mars than the deepest part of the ocean.” So far few people have studied the living organisms in this ecosystem.
Jonathan Tod, of Britain’s ‘East Anglia University’ said, “Our team went to take samples of microbial bacteria at approximately 11,000 meters in the deepest part of Mariana Trench. We studied the samples brought and discovered a new group of hydrocarbons degrading bacteria. ‘
Todd said in a statement, “Hydrocarbons are organic compounds that are made of hydrogen and carbon atoms. These are found in many places including crude oil and natural gas. ‘He said,’ Such microbes ate the compounds present in the oil and then used it as a fuel. Such microorganisms also play an important part in eliminating the oil leak from natural disaster. ‘
The research has been published in Microbiome.