''Halomonas titanicae'' is a

gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

halophilic The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...

species of

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

which was isolated in 2010 from rusticles recovered from the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. It has been estimated by Henrietta Mann, one of the researchers that first isolated it, that the action of microbes like ''Halomonas titanicae'' may bring about the total deterioration of the ''Titanic'' by 2030. While the bacteria have been identified as a potential danger to oil rigs and other man-made objects in the deep sea, they also have the potential to be used in

bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...

to accelerate the decomposition of shipwrecks littering the ocean floor.

Cell morphology

''Halomonas titanicae'' is a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that produces peritrichous

flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

. It is

catalase Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms exposed to oxygen (such as bacteria, plants, and animals) which catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. It is a very important enzyme in protecting t ...

and

oxidase In biochemistry, an oxidase is an enzyme that catalyzes oxidation-reduction reactions, especially one involving dioxygen (O2) as the electron acceptor. In reactions involving donation of a hydrogen atom, oxygen is reduced to water (H2O) or hydro ...

positive. It has been found to form

biofilms A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular po ...

and some strains are capable of oxidation of thiosulfate, which is regulated by

quorum sensing In biology, quorum sensing or quorum signalling (QS) is the ability to detect and respond to cell population density by gene regulation. As one example, QS enables bacteria to restrict the expression of specific genes to the high cell densities at ...

. It is able to withstand high osmotic pressure due to producing molecules like

ectoine Ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) is a natural compound found in several species of bacteria. It is a compatible solute which serves as a protective substance by acting as an osmolyte and thus helps organisms surv ...

, hydroxyectoine, betaine, and glycine.September 6, 2016, Extremophile Bacteria’ Will Eat Away Wreck of the Titanic by 2030.
/ref>

Importance in corrosion

''Halomonas titanicae'' is involved in the corrosion of steel by reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) when oxygen is not available as an electron acceptor. However, when in aerobic conditions, it helps to inhibit corrosion by consuming dissolved oxygen. In the case of the ''Titanic'' and other shipwrecks, the bacteria accelerate the corrosion of these structures since levels of dissolved oxygen deep in the ocean are very low.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Halomonas titanicae'' at Bac''Dive'' – the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Oceanospirillales RMS Titanic Bacteria described in 2010 {{Bacteria-stub