The Drennan Lab is working on insights into how nature performs challenging chemistry in oxygen-free environments, with potential applications for remediation, such as cleaning up oil spills, in situations where traditional approaches are ineffective.
Produced by Lillian Eden | Department of Biology
August 28, 2025
Can bacteria clean up oil spills? The short answer: no. Or, at least, not yet.
The Drennan Lab is working to understand how bacteria perform incredible, radical chemistry on inert compounds. Inert compounds, like those that make up crude oil, are challenging to break down because they contain very stable chains of carbon and hydrogen (hydrocarbons). Some microbes have special enzymes that attach another compound to these long, hydrocarbon chains, which makes it possible for the previously inert compound to be degraded.
Using cryo-electron microscopy, the Drennan Lab recently determined the three-dimensional structure of a glycyl radical enzyme that catalyzes the formation of carbon-carbon bonds, outlined in a recent paper published in PNAS.
This work provides insights into how nature performs challenging chemistry in oxygen-free environments and has potential applications for remediation, such as cleaning up oil spills, in situations where traditional approaches are ineffective.
This research was led by former postdoc Mary C. Andorfer, who will continue to explore the power of anaerobic microbes as an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University. This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Catherine Drennan is a Professor of Biology and Chemistry at MIT and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.