Biology of Methanogenesis
Anaerobic Bioremediation

Department of Marine Biotechnology UMBC - Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology

Press Releases

04/23/07 MUSC and UMBI Collaborators Isolate Bacteria from Polluted Waterways that Detoxify PCBs

BALTIMORE, Md. --Researchers at UMBI’s Center of MarineBiotechnology (COMB), and the Medical University of South Carolina have found that as few as two or three strains of bacteria can work together to break down commercial mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a family of highly toxic compounds that are widespread contaminants of the nations waterways. The ability to now culture these microorganisms in the laboratory combined with development of sensitive methods for their detection will enable researchers to study how PCBs are degraded in the environment and design approaches for treating PCB contaminated sites that avoid the inherent limitations and expense of dredging.

10/19/06 Mars May Be Cozy Place for Hardy Microbes

BALTIMORE, Md. -- A class of especially hardy microbes that live in some of the harshest Earthly environments could flourish on cold Mars and other chilly planets, according to a research team of astronomers and microbiologists. In a two-year laboratory study, the researchers discovered that some cold-adapted microorganisms not only survived but reproduced at 30 degrees Fahrenheit, just below the freezing point of water. The microbes also developed a defense mechanism that protected them from cold temperatures. The researchers are members of a unique collaboration of astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute and microbiologists from the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimore, Md. Their results appear on the International Journal of Astrobiology website.

05/23/06 DOE JGI Finishes 100th Microbial Genome - Catalyzing the Power of the Unseen World.

WALNUT CREEK, CA --On May 23, at the general meeting of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) announced that it has finished the sequence of 100 microbial genomes and released this information for the benefit of the global research community. The 100th microbial genome, a project originally proposed by Dr. Kevin Sowers of the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI), is Methanosarcina barkeri fusaro, a methane-producing organism that exploits a unique metabolic pathway to do the job. This microbe, while isolated from a freshwater mud sample, also lives in the rumen of cattle where cellulose and other polysaccharides are digested.

01/08/02 Harbor Mud Microbe Breaks Down PCBs

BALTIMORE, Md. --A first strain of bacterium that breaks down tough chlorine bonds of the pollutant PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in estuarine sediment is reported in the current issue of the journal Environmental Microbiology by scientists with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI).

07/12/99 Harbor Mud Breaks PCB Bonds

BALTIMORE, Md. --In experiments with the mud, repeated many times at UMBI’s Center of MarineBiotechnology (COMB), and the Medical University of South Carolina, the scientists may have revealed extensive dechlorination of PCBs in coastal sediments, an essential step to breaking down the banned, toxic materials.

<Back to Home