September 04, 2023, 16:50
Bacteria live in ocean sediment © Zheng et al., eLife, 2023
Scientists have discovered a mysterious and unique type of bacteria in sediment samples from the deep ocean that could expand our understanding of deep-sea conditions and microbiology in general, reports Science Alert.
A team in China has grown the bacteria in the lab using sediment from cold seep, a puddle of nutrient-rich fluid and mud on the ocean floor. The researchers named the new species Poriferisphaera hetertotropicis. It belongs to a phylum of bacteria that is understudied, although it is found throughout the world, from lakes to soils, and plays a critical role in the recycling of carbon and nitrogen.
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During the study, scientists simulated deep-sea conditions. The new bacteria P. hetertotropicis, a strain designated ZRK32, grew faster than other cultured bacteria and reproduced differently from others.
The new species reproduced by budding, which had not previously been observed in other planctomycetes. This was probably a response to the unusual environmental conditions in which this species lives.
In addition, it interacts with nitrogen types and the nitrogen cycle in new ways and lives next to a specific type of bacteriophage that helps recycle nitrogen. All of this affects scientists’ understanding of the chemical processes that take place deep below the surface of the ocean.
“Our analyzes show that the ZRK32 strain is a novel species that grows best in a nutrient-rich environment and sheds the bacteriophage in the presence of nitrogen. This ZRK32 phage is a chronic bacteriophage that lives inside its host without killing it,” says microbiologist Chaoming Sun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Previously, the team that controlled the underwater robot of the Ocean Institute. Schmidt, discovered an entire ecosystem under the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. An underwater robot turned over slabs of volcanic crust at the bottom of the ocean and discovered veins of underground fluids in which life was in full swing. This is a whole new world, the existence of which scientists did not know.
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