2023-10-17 18:15:00
It does not seem that a geyser is a suitable place to live, not even for thermophilic microorganisms, accustomed to high temperatures. Geysers present a unique challenge: they are extremely dynamic environments. As if being launched hundreds of meters high a few times a day were not enough, microbes are subjected to fluctuating steam and water temperatures, which constantly change throughout the eruptive cycle.
However, in every challenge there is an opportunity, since the form of life that manages to settle in a very hostile environment will have fewer competitors than if the environment were suitable for many forms of life. And this has turned out to be the case for some amazing microorganisms that live in the Old Faithful geyser, one of the most famous geysers in Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
A team led by Lisa M Keller, from Montana State University in the United States, has carried out a study that reveals in all its magnitude the presence of microbes in the aforementioned geyser and how a microbial community can thrive there.
Thermocrinis ruber is the most abundant bacteria residing at Old Faithful, making up more than 60% of the microbial population. As a chemoautotroph, it generates its own energy from chemical reactions. And this not only benefits her; It is also of great help to the rest of the microbial community. But how? Old Faithful is a place not only hot but also dark, and the latter makes photosynthesis impossible.
Keller and his colleagues have proven that Thermocrinis ruber takes the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by the geyser and converts it into forms of carbon that are usable by other species, allowing cross-feeding in the community. Thanks to this, species such as Thermus aquaticus also thrive. All of this has allowed the establishment of an exotic but stable ecosystem and the maintenance of a fairly complex microbial community.
Old Faithful geyser in full eruption. (Photo: Lisa M. Keller. CC BY-NC)
Discovering that life can perpetuate itself in an environment as hostile as a geyser also has repercussions for astrobiology. Outside of Earth, there are active geysers on Enceladus (a moon of Saturn) and Europa (a moon of Jupiter). Research carried out on that Yellowstone geyser reveals that the chances that there may be detectable life in those geysers on Enceladus and Europa are greater than previously believed.
The study is titled “An Active Microbiome in Old Faithful Geyser.” And it has been presented publicly at a recent meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
#Microbes #living #geyser