A brand-new bacterial¹ species has been found aboard the RMS Titanic², which is contributing to its deterioration³（恶化，退化） . The discovery reveals a potential new microbial threat to the exterior⁴ of ships and underwater metal structures such as oil rigs. The researchers, who report their findings in the latest issue of the International Journal of Systematic⁵ and Evolutionary⁶ Microbiology published on 8 December, isolated⁷ the micro-organisms from a 'rusticle', collected from the RMS Titanic, 3.8 km below the ocean surface.

The novel bacterium⁸（细菌） has been named Halomonas titanicae by the scientists from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada and the University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain. The team also tested the rusting⁹ ability of the bacterium - and found that it was able to adhere to steel surfaces, creating knob-like mounds¹⁰ of corrosion¹¹ products, which they will be reporting in an upcoming paper.

A similar bacterial corrosive¹²（腐蚀的） process is thought to be responsible for the formation of the rusticles – which resemble rusty¹³ icicles – that adorn¹⁴ the hull¹⁵ of the RMS Titanic. While these appear to be solid structures, rusticles are highly porous¹⁶（能渗透的） and support a complex variety of bacteria, suggesting that H. titanicae may work in conjunction with（连同，共同） other organisms to speed up the corrosion of the metal.

The RMS Titanic was made up of 50,000 tons of iron and has been progressively deteriorating¹⁷ for the past 98 years. Lead researchers Dr Bhavleen Kaur and Dr Henrietta Mann, from Dalhousie University explained that the role of microbes in this process is now starting to be understood. "We believe H. titanicae plays a part in the recycling of iron structures at certain depths. This could be useful in the disposal of old naval¹⁸ and merchant ships and oil rigs that have been cleaned of toxins¹⁹ and oil-based products and then sunk in the deep ocean."

Dr Kaur and Dr Mann believe that the findings have opened up further areas of research that could have applications for industry. "We don't know yet whether this species arrived aboard the RMS Titanic before or after it sank. We also don't know if these bacteria cause similar damage to offshore²⁰ oil and gas pipelines," they said. "Finding answers to these questions will not only better our understanding of our oceans, but may also equip us to devise（设计，发明） coatings that can prevent similar deterioration to other metal structures."