All-in-one: New microbe degrades oil to gas

Crude oil and gas naturally escape from the seabed in many places known as "seeps." There, these hydrocarbons move up from source rocks through fractures and sediments toward the surface, where they leak out of the ground ...

New key players in the methane cycle

Methane is not only a powerful greenhouse gas, but also a source of energy. Microorganisms therefore use it for their metabolism. They do so much more frequently and in more ways than was previously assumed, as revealed by ...

Key players in the marine nitrogen cycle use cyanate and urea

The ammonia oxidizing archaea, or Thaumarchaeota, are among the most abundant marine microorganisms. Yet, scientists are still discovering which factors allow them to thrive in the ocean. A research team from the Max Planck ...

Symbiotic ciliates and bacteria have a common ancestor

Ciliates, just like humans, are colonized by a vast diversity of bacteria. Some ciliates and their bacterial symbionts have become friends for life, as researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in ...

Researchers unravel the mystery of marine methane oxidation

(Phys.org)—Microbiologists and geochemists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, along with their colleagues from Vienna and Mainz, show that marine methane oxidation coupled to sulfate respiration can ...

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