The oil eating microbe Alcanivorax borkumensis has unique ge

The oil eating microbe, Alcanivorax borkumensis, has unique genes in its DNA that give the bacterium the ability to use oil (hydrocarbons) as an energy source. Alcanivorax borkumensis is rare in clean ocean ecosystems but can rapidly increase its population sizes when ocean water becomes polluted with oil. In evolutionary terms, explain how the ‘oil-eating genes’ of Alcanivorax borkumensis became prominent in its DNA and how the genes give the bacteria a selective advantage over other types of bacteria that occur in ocean ecosystems.

Solution

Alcanivorax borkumensis is a rod-shaped micro organism that is feed on oil to get energy.
A. Borkumensis has set of genes that allow them to break down the alkanes in oil and use them as meals.

The A. Borkumensis genome has many sequences that each code for a exclusive form of alkane, permitting it to be enormously adaptable and versatile. Its genome includes formation of biosurfactants which are used in degradation. To cope up with external threats, the A. Borkumensis genome additionally codes for numerous defensive mechanisms. Coping with excessive concentrations of sodium ions (i.e. In ocean water), and protecting against the UV radiation skilled at the surface of the earth are each important for the A. Borkumensis bacteria, whose genome carries methods to clear up both of those troubles.
Crude oil, or petroleum, is predominantly made from hydrocarbons, a product that consists of an extended chain of carbon atoms connected to hydrogen atoms. Whereas maximum organisms use sugars or amino acids for their source of carbon/energy, A. Borkumensis makes use of alkanes, a kind of hydrocarbon, in its metabolic manner. This permits A. Borkumensis to flourish in marine environments which give them selective advantage over other types of bacteria .

Through its metabolism, A. Borkumensis can damage down oil into harmless compounds. This capability makes this species a major potential supply for bioremediation of oil-polluted marine environments.