Oil contamination threatens our environment: researchers sound the alarm!

Oil contamination threatens our environment: researchers sound the alarm!

Oil contamination poses a serious threat to the environment, both marine and terrestrial habitats. Dr. Lisa Voskuhl, a microbiologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, has found in their research that algae and bacterial communities can play an important role in the natural breakdown of oil. Since 2025, their work has been supported with 40,000 euros by the Daimler and Benz Foundation, which awards twelve scholarships annually for postdoctoral researchers and junior professors.

Petroleum, a natural product, took its current form over millions of years through geological processes. Despite its widespread distribution in nature, the risks it poses are alarming, particularly from natural oil spills. In Germany, such occurrences have also been detected in the forests of Lower Saxony. Dr. Voskuhl is investigating how microorganisms can survive in these petroleum deposits and effectively break down oil. The goal of their research is to develop optimized microbiological cultures that can be used in the control of oil contamination.

Studies on microbes in the seabed

In parallel to Voskuhl's research, scientists are working on... Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and at MARUM intensively with the special properties of microbes that live in the deep seabed. These microorganisms are not only essential for the breakdown of petroleum, but also play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Research has shown that archaea in the Guaymas Basin, an active tectonic area in the Gulf of California, can break down petroleum alkanes under anaerobic conditions, which is difficult without oxygen.

The research shows that these microbes can function even at high temperatures through a special mechanism that uses an enzyme called methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR). In laboratory studies using sediment samples from this area, it was demonstrated that archaea of ​​the genus Candidatus Alkanophaga are able to effectively assimilate alkanes. The presence of bacteria of the genus Thermodesulfobacterium, which contribute to respiration through sulfate reduction, highlights the complexity of these biological communities.

Hydrothermal systems and their importance

Another important aspect of the research is hydrothermal systems, which represent an interface between microbes and the carbon cycle. A study by researchers at Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg highlights how dissolved organic matter (DOM) is formed in the deep sea by seeping oil and serves as a source of energy and nutrition for microorganisms. The role of hydrothermal sediments as a source of bioavailable organic molecules and complex DOM compounds is highlighted.

These findings are not only important for basic science research, but could also have an impact on the oil industry. The studies show that microbes are not only able to influence natural oil spills, but may also contribute to the rarity of such spills. Understanding how they work is becoming increasingly essential to minimize future ecological damage caused by oil contamination.