NY3 - Common Bacteria Strain Could Aid In Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup
A new strain of bacteria can produce non-toxic, comparatively inexpensive rhamnolipids and effectively help degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs – the environmental pollutants that are one of the most harmful aspects of oil spills. The findings on this new bacterial strain, NY3, of a common bacteria that has been known of for decades, called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, that degrades the PAHs in oil and other hydrocarbons were just published in Biotechnology Advances by researchers from Oregon State University and two collaborating universities in China. Because of some unique characteristics, this new bacterial strain could be of considerable value in the long-term cleanup of the massive Gulf Coast oil spill caused by BP. read more