Bacteria that eat oil have been discovered in the deepest part of the ocean

The oil-eating bacterium has been discovered by scientists in the deepest part of the ocean.

According to SlashGear , researchers at the University of East Anglia had a very unique discovery: oil-eating bacteria were discovered in one of the most mysterious parts of our planet. Extremely small organisms were discovered in the Mariana trench, the deepest ocean trench in the world. According to the study, the Mariana groove has the highest rate of bacteria eating oil on Earth.

The Mariana Trench has the highest rate of bacteria eating oil on Earth.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Western Pacific; It is deeper than Mount Everest and is still one of the greatest mysteries on Earth. Xiao-Hua Zhang, the leader of the research team, said our people knew more about Mars than this area of ​​the Earth.

A group of scientists studied samples collected from the deepest part of the Mariana trench (about 11 km) and discovered a new group of bacteria that degrade hydrocarbons, the main ingredient in substances like natural gas. and oil.

This bacterium is not new - these microorganisms are found in many places and contribute to reducing the concentration of oil in seawater when incidents such as oil spills occur. However, research shows that the Mariana groove is the place with the highest proportion of these microorganisms on Earth.

So what exactly does this bacterium eat? The researchers found hydrocarbons produced biologically in ocean sediments from trench bottoms at a depth of about 19,600ft. They suspect hydrocarbons can be found in water at a lower depth. This is the first time that these hydrocarbons are found in bacteria at such depths.