Microbes found thriving in sub-zero spring in Arctic Canada
2 Min Read
Scientists find signs of life in a low-oxygen, super-salty, sub-zero spring in the Canadian Arctic.
-
The Lost Hammer Spring (Elissa Magnuson)
Scientists have discovered traces of microbial life in one of the harshest conditions on Earth, raising hopes that life may also be found in some of the space's unexplored regions.
Scientists discovered traces of life in the low-oxygen, super-salty waters of the Lost Hammer Spring in the Canadian Arctic.
The spring water rises through 1,970 feet of permafrost in one of the coldest spots on the planet. Many people are hopeful that microbial life (if it exists) can be found in comparable settings on the icy moons Europa and Enceladus.
Lead researcher microbiologist Elisse Magnuson of McGill University stated that it took multiple years of "working with the sediment before we were able to successfully detect active microbial communities. The saltiness of the environment interferes with both the extraction and the sequencing of the microbes, so when we were able to find evidence of active microbial communities, it was a very satisfying experience."
The bacteria discovered by the scientists are completely novel, with some extremely particular adaptations that allow them to thrive and develop in severe settings as the Lost Hammer Spring. The fact that these microorganisms are chemolithotrophic is crucial. These creatures, whose name literally means "rock eaters," generate energy by oxidizing inorganic compounds. Chemolithotropes can exist in the absence or presence of oxygen.
Lyle Whyte, a microbiologist at McGill University, explained that the microbes found were surprising due to the fact that, unlike other microorganisms, they are independent of organic material or oxygen.
These microbes can survive by feeding and inhaling basic inorganic substances present on Mars, such as methane, sulfides, sulfate, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide.
According to Whyte, “They can also fix carbon dioxide and nitrogen gasses from the atmosphere, all of which makes them highly adapted to both surviving and thriving in very extreme environments on Earth and beyond."
Scientists think that the ice on Mars' polar caps is generated from hypersaline water and that seas of hypersaline water exist beneath the icy surfaces of Europa, Jupiter's sixth-biggest moon, and Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon. Similar alien bacteria that have adapted to the circumstances may live in these habitats.
