Topic- Oil- Degrading Bacteria
Title- Oil Be Seeing You

Developed at Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation Biology Institute, by Elizabeth Burck, Peggy Deichstetter, Sue Draper and Su Ellen Silverman – July 1999

Recommended grade level: 10-12
Courses- Biology, Microbiology, Environmental Science

Purpose- To determine the relationship between soil environments and the presence of petroleum-degrading bacteria.

Abstract

The growth of oil degrading bacteria, commonly found in all natural environments, was observed and measured in a lab situation for seven days.  Soil samples were gathered from four locations thought to vary in exposure to environmental oil.  Each sample was placed in a separate flask, given water, nutrient broth and a mothball to serve as a hydrocarbon source.  Turbidity of growth medium and quantitative mothball measurements served as proof of bacterial growth.

The sample taken from the garden, the area thought to be least likely to support oil-eating bacteria, showed the greatest bacterial growth.  This finding suggests that the presence of oil degrading bacteria in the environment is not exclusively dependent on direct exposure to oil but could be elevated through the addition of phosphorus and nitrogen by fertilization.