Bacterial Design for Disposing of Chlorine Toxins

Bacterial Design for Disposing of Chlorine Toxins

TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information

Scientific advance has given human beings reason to be grateful for a certain bacterium. A team of American and German geneticists has found new evidence for the specific design of a bacterial species for the particular benefit of human civilization. For a certain class of chlorinated toxins, commonly used as industrial cleansers, there is no effective industrial process for degrading the toxins. However, one organism, the bacterium, Dehalococcoides ethenogenes (De), is capable of breaking down the chlorinated toxins into nontoxic ethenes. In sequencing the genome of De the team discovered that its chromosome contains genes that encode instructions for the assembly of 22 complex molecules. Together these molecules give the bacterium the capacity not only to break down dangerous toxins generated by human industrial activity but also to take advantage of such chemical breakdown to support some of its metabolic reactions. The team described this amazing bacterium as “highly evolved,” but it seems much more than that. De contains genes found in no other species of life and these genes anticipate and effectively deal with the life-threatening consequences of human industrial activity. Such design strongly suggests an intelligent Creator who knew in advance the direction of the development of human civilization.