Will marine microbes be 'secret cards' against greenhouse gases?

Can the smallest species of nature help us reduce elevated CO ₂ levels and even oil spills? It may seem strange, but the answer is yes. With new research on marine microorganisms, these tiny organisms are very "hungry" and their food is pollutants.

They are microorganisms in the Gulf of California , about 2,000 meters below sea level. Recent research has identified 551 separate genomes (including 22 previously unrecognized genomes), and those microorganisms have absorbed hydrocarbons such as methane and butane as a living energy source.

"This shows that oceans contain undiscovered biodiversity and microorganisms capable of reducing the amount of oil spills and other toxic chemicals, " marine scientist Brett Baker from the University of Texas (Austin) said.

"Below the ocean floor is a giant reservoir of hydrocarbon gas (including methane, propane, butane .) and these bacteria prevent greenhouse gases from escaping into the atmosphere."

This tiny microorganism can help us reduce the level of carbon dioxide that is rising.

Not only do they keep poisons, but they are also useful in limiting and cleaning up future sources of pollution, if their ability is exploited or copied. These are just the first steps in studying these tiny organisms, but the way they "eat" hydrocarbons is remarkable.

Indeed, these 22 new bacteria are genetically different from anything we have seen before, they look like a new branch on the tree of life that scientists use to record back to all living creatures.

But that is not surprising, because it is estimated that 99.9% of the world's bacteria cannot be recreated in the laboratory, meaning there are still billions of organisms that live like this to scientists discover and learn.

"The tree of life is something that people have tried to understand since Darwin came up with this concept more than 150 years ago and it is still the target at this point," Barker said.

However, thanks to improvements in DNA sequences and computer software, we are getting closer and closer to that goal over the years. The bacteria discovered in this study can improve our understanding of biology as well as open up opportunities for us to prevent pollutants from being released into the environment.

Conducting more research and collecting more samples of organisms is necessary to get a complete picture of how these deep-sea microorganisms work. However, scientists still have many unknowns to answer.

"We think this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of diversity in the Guaymas basin , " Baker said.

"So we are working on more DNA sequences to try to break things down. This article is really just a little bit of a first revelation about what they are doing."