[1] Its genome has been sequenced and from this information, it has been recognized as a potentially important organism capable of oil degradation in the deep sea.
[1] Based on sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA genes conducted by Yakimov et al., phylogenetically, this organism is related most closely to species of Oceanobacter, Marinobacterium, and Marinomonas.
[3] Oleispira antarctica was isolated and characterized from shallow samples of sea water collected from the inlet portion of Rod Bay in the Ross Sea (74°41.753'S, 164°07.188'E) during an expedition from the summer season in Antarctica of 1999 to the same time in the year 2000 by Yakimov et al.[1] The investigators performed enrichment and incubation of collected samples in 20 ml volumes of crude oil and additional nutrients.
[1] After 2 months of enrichment at 4 °C, cultures were diluted in tubes containing solutions of mineral medium of type ONR7a that were additionally supplemented with more crude light oil.
[1] Oleispira antarctica, in addition to a few other species, has recently received increasing consideration and attention for potential application in microbe-based bioremediation.
[5] Specifically, O. antarctica could potentially be used in the clean up of marine environments damaged or contaminated by hydrocarbon pollution, especially in the context of oil spills.
[5][6] 16S ribosomal RNA gene clones identified as belonging to the genus Oleispira were found to be very commonly occurring in samples obtained from deep underwater depths at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.