1.       Pseudomonas

a.       Common oil eating bacteria

b.      Interesting facts

                                                               i.      Used on many different oil spills worldwide

                                                             ii.      They use oil as their energy 

c.       Characteristics

                                                               i.      Rod shaped

                                                             ii.      Gram-negative

                                                            iii.      Aerobic

                                                           iv.      At least one flagella

                                                             v.      Non spore forming

d.      History

                                                               i.      Pseudomonad comes from Greek  meaning “false unit”

e.      Location

                                                               i.      If you were to dig a hole almost anywhere on earth you would find them

f.        Beneficial Properties

                                                               i.      Helps clean up oil spills which helps animals and plants.

Recent Studies:

                A British scientist names Tumeo recently did an experiment on pseudomonas.  His goal was to see what conditions these bacteria work best in the Antarctic.  Tumeo used twelve wooden boxes in his experiment.  “Into some, he's added the following unsavory ingredients: a cubic foot of diesel-soaked soil, sewage, and surfactants, which are chemicals that break the surface tension of the soil to allow bacteria easier access to the diesel fuel.”  After one year he concluded the best ideas might be to warm up the soil, because in freezing conditions the bacteria do not work very well. 

Reproduction:

                Pseudomonas reproduce asexually by means of Binary Fission. 

Nutrition: Pseudomonas eat organic matter

Interesting facts: diseases caused by the bacteria

Current events: Exxon Valdez oil Spill, and Gulf War Oil Spill

History: observed as early as 1894 but fully catagorized in 2000

Problems: Pseudomonas is found all over the world.  If we should run out of the bacteria, cleaning up oil spills would be much harder and less environmentally friendly. 

Beneficial Properties:  Oil eating bacteria helps clean up oil spills all over the world.