Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am doing a project involving Alcanivorax borkumensis. It's is the bacterium used in the gulf oil spill to degrade the oil. I need to know where to buy this bacterium. I know you can buy it from ATCC but it is very expensive. Do you know anywhere else to acquire it for cheaper than $300. My parents and mentor are willing to buy the bacterium but if I could get it somewhere else for cheaper, it would be great.

Hi,

I looked around and could not find it anywhere else. I hope you would pay the "non-profit" price which is a bit less.

Maybe other experts here have found another option?

Tonya

Hi Ama,

I understand your reluctance to spend the $300 to get the bacterium from ATCC. What I would like you to try is to use your literature search and find several labs who have published papers using A. borkumensis. It is common practice for scientists to 'borrow' bacterial strains from each other to save the cost of buying them over and over. Write a good, clear, email explaining that you are a high school student doing a research project and you need a culture of A borkumensis to perform your experiments. You can tell them what your hypothesis is so they know you are a serious student researcher.

Tell them that you cannot afford to purchase it from ATCC because it costs $300 and that you would be willing to pay them the shipping costs if they would send you an agar slant through the mail. I'm assuming this bacterium can be grown and transported this way. That's something you need to find out. If they have to send a culture on dry ice, they will be less likely to agree because of the extra work.

Did you try calling Carolina Biologicals? I didn’t get a hit for it in their search box, but they might still have the bacterium available or know where you can get it for much less than $300. Here’s their link: http://www.carolina.com/catalog/search- ... SearchForm Click to chat with Customer Service from 8am to 8pm, ET, Monday-Friday, or call us at 800.334.5551.

If there is a university near you, check the biology or ecology department and see if you can find a lab that is using this bug. If you find someone, give them a call and tell them who you are. Most researchers are happy to help high school students with their science projects. Then all you have to do is go to the lab and pick it up yourself. That would be perfect--no shipping needed!

Good luck and let us know how you made out.

Scibee