Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Arctic Research and Design Center to Work on Oil-Degrading Bacteria

Arctic Research and Design Center signed a contract on research work in laboratories of Lomonosov Moscow State University (LMSU). As a result of the research in laboratory of microbial biotechnology and Percov’s White sea biological station, a complex substance, based on bacteria living in low temperatures (psychrophilous microorganisms) must be elaborated, which will modernize existing technologies of the Northern seas’ water area from oil contaminates.

Following the terms of the agreement, LMSU specialists will conduct the research and analysis of at least 5 methods of generating such substance and will elaborate techniques of the bacteria usage. The research will include taking samples from oil-contaminated areas to extract psychrophilous organisms from natural microbial populations, development of a step-by-step method to detect and isolate the oil-degrading microorganisms tolerant to arctic temperature and salinity conditions while also being efficient degraders for a number of ecologically hazardous toxicants (hydrocarbons of oil and oil products, including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons resistant to oxidation). The laboratory specimen of the biological product will be tested in a flow-through sea aquarium using temperature and salinity conditions consistent with arctic environments.