New Zealand bacteria could help save the planet
03 Dec 2007
New Zealand scientists have discovered a bacterium that may help to counter global warming.
The methane-eating bacterium, which can survive in hot and acidic conditions, was discovered in the geothermal grounds of Hell’s Gate in Rotorua.
Initial calculations estimate that a cubic metre of liquid containing the micro-organism is able to consume up to 11kg of methane a year.
Researchers from GNS Science hope the bacterium could one day be used to reduce methane gas emissions from landfills and geothermal power stations.
''What we have found is an extremely tough methane-consuming organism that is new to science. Ultimately, if used in landfills, it, or a similar organism could cut methane emissions into the atmosphere,'' says Microbiologist Dr. Matthew Stott.
GNS microbiologist Peter Dunfield, who isolated the bacterium, has tentatively named it Methylokorus infernorum, to describe its methane food source, hot living environment and the type of structure within its cell that resembles a koru.
The bacterium is part of a group known as Methanotrophs, mostly found in soils and in environments where methane is produced, such as marshes and peat bogs. The micro-organism was found about 30cm down from the surface, where manuka and scrub had died through steam incursion at the Tikitere geothermal field, also known as Hell's Gate.
The discovery has just been published in a paper in the science journal Nature. It stemmed from a collaboration between GNS Science and the owner of Hell's Gate, the Tikitere Trust.
These topics may also be of interest to you
|
