Loosely translated into English, the Latin name of the bacterium is “alkane eaters from Borkum.” Indeed, the name says it all, for alkanes are chains of hydrocarbons that exist in petroleum in large quantities. A. borkumensis feeds on energy-rich chains which occur naturally in the sea—and on non-naturally-occurring chains like those dispersed in oil spills. In many cases the bacteria multiply rapidly, thereby accelerating the pollution-clearing process.
Oil and water don’t mix
Because of the well-known fact that oil and water don’t mix, in order to eat its favorite food, the microscopic sea creature requires a chemical aid. It makes it for itself, producing a kind of natural dishwashing liquid. This “detergent” is a compound consisting of the amino acid glycine and a sugar-fatty acid compound. “The molecules have a water-soluble part and a fat-soluble part,” explains Professor Peter Dörmann, who is a biochemist at the University of Bonn's IMBIO institute (Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants). “The bacteria settle on the surface of the oil droplets, where they form a biofilm.”
The mechanism by which the alkane eater synthesizes this detergent was not understood until a working group led by Professor Karl-Erich Jaeger of Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf intensively studied the...