The Shewanellaceae are in general considered as of great value for bioremediation for sites contaminated with heavy metals or radioactive waste due to their ability to reduce the respective metal compounds.

OS155 is a versatile Shewanella baltica strain with respect to usage of electron acceptors and electron donors (Ziemke et al. 1998, Höfle et al. 2000). It is growing well and is easy to be cultivated and shows a  fast onset of growth even after prolonged periods of starvation. It also shows good growth at low organic carbon concentration (Brettar et al. unpublished data). Compared to the S. baltica strain OS195, strain OS155 is less versatile compared to the use of organic substrates and grows slower reaching a lower final density. OS155 can be considered as a potential candidate to be used for bioremediation of sites contaminated with organic pollutants and heavy metals.

OS155 was isolated in August 1986 from deep water of  the Gotland Deep, a 240m deep anoxic basin in the Baltic Sea. OS195 forms part of a large scale collection and study on Shewanella-isolates from the water column of the central Baltic Sea. In this study it was shown that  Shewanella baltica had an increased abundance in the low oxic water and at the oxic-anoxic interface (Brettar & Höfle 1993, Brettar et al. 2001). According to clonal analysis of the population structure of Shewanella baltica by RAPD, OS155 formed part of the second largest clone (clone "F") that was present in the Baltic Sea in two subsequent years and at two different sampling stations (only 1 out of 13 clones were present over two years at both stations) (Ziemke et al. 1997, Höfle et al. 2000). Clone F is a less versatile clone with respect to the use of electron acceptors and electron donors. Due to the presence of clone F in the Baltic Sea over time and space it is considered to be of special value from an ecological point of view (good adaptation and survival mechanisms) (Ziemke et al. 1997, Höfle et al. 2000).

The genome-sequenced S. baltica strains form part of different clones according to RAPD analysis that fits well with the physiological features, a coincidence that was interpreted as different niches occupied by the different clones (Höfle et al. 2000), Besides their potential use for biotechnological applications, the comparative genome analysis is targeted at a better understanding of the biogeochemical potential and the specific ecological niches of the different S. baltica- clones in the low oxic/anoxic water of the central Baltic Sea.

Recent studies in the central Baltic Sea showed that addition of complex organic matter can promote the rapid appearance of "blooms" of Shewanella baltica in the low oxic water of the Baltic Sea (Brettar et al., unpublished data). This potential of S. baltica for rapid growth even after prolonged starvation periods combined with the use of a broad range of different electron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, iron, sulfite, or thiosulfate can be of high relevance for the organic matter turnover in a stratified low oxygen environment like the central Baltic Sea.