Deep-sea surprises

What could grow 6,000 feet below sea level in superheated and highly acidic liquids? More than anyone might reasonably expect. That’s according to new research from a team of American and European researchers who discovered nearly 300 new species living on the edge of an underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean.

The creatures found in and around the Brothers Volcano about 200 miles northeast of New Zealand are what biologists call extremophiles. These tiny lifeforms thrive under weird environmental conditions. The team on Dec. 22 published research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences detailing its discovery of 285 new single-cell life forms. The scientists hope understanding these creatures will offer a window into harsh and unforgiving environments where traditional observation methods don’t work very well.

The team collected water samples from around the Brothers Volcano using the remotely operated Thomas G. Thompson research vessel. Inside the sample bottles, scientists discovered 202 new species of bacterial life, along with 83 new species of archaea, single-cell organisms that tend to live in extreme environments.

After analyzing the DNA from the new microbial life, researchers noticed many of the organisms were picky about where they lived. Some of the newly minted microbes congregated near the walls of the volcano’s caldera where 600-degree molten metal meets ocean water. Others seemed to prefer living near mounds at the base of the caldera where the volcano vented superheated sulfur gas that reached temperatures nearing 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to study co-author Mircea Podar, a researcher with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee specializing in the genetics of lifeforms living near deep-sea vents, scientists can make inferences about the environmental conditions near an underwater volcano by just observing the characteristics of the microbes that live there. That technique could help scientists trying to study hard-to-reach depths of the sea.

“We’re heading to a point where microbes can be very informative about the environment they came from and even reflect some of the past,” Podar said. “With more data, we can use microbes as a proxy to characterize environments where traditional measurements are challenging to capture.”