Head Ian M, Jones D Martin, Röling Wilfred F M
School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2006 Mar;4(3):173-82. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro1348.
Hundreds of millions of litres of petroleum enter the environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources every year. The input from natural marine oil seeps alone would be enough to cover all of the world's oceans in a layer of oil 20 molecules thick. That the globe is not swamped with oil is testament to the efficiency and versatility of the networks of microorganisms that degrade hydrocarbons, some of which have recently begun to reveal the secrets of when and how they exploit hydrocarbons as a source of carbon and energy.
每年有数亿升石油从自然和人为来源进入环境。仅天然海洋油渗漏的输入量就足以在全球海洋上覆盖一层20个分子厚的油层。地球并未被石油淹没，这证明了降解碳氢化合物的微生物网络的高效性和多样性，其中一些微生物最近开始揭示它们何时以及如何利用碳氢化合物作为碳和能量来源的秘密。
