"The strong never complain about the environment"! The "lone hero" in the desert, deep sea, and life forbidden zone

One summer day in 1965, the sun was scorching, there was no wind, and the only noise outside the window was the annoying noise of cicadas. After their vacation, Thomas Brock, a microbiologist at the University of Washington, and his wife Lois Brock were driving back to their laboratory. When they passed through Yellowstone National Park, they were attracted by the beautiful scenery in front of them.

The charming scenery and the strange spray of the geyser made the two stop and forget all their worries... Out of professional habit, they also collected some water samples from the Emerald Spring while walking for later analysis. A few days later, Mr. Block suddenly had an idea in his spare time: "Will there be any living organisms in these samples collected from the Emerald Spring?" So he and his colleagues started research.

Emerald Hot Springs in Yellowstone Park

They were surprised to find that there were many microorganisms in the sulfide-rich, highly acidic (pH 3) boiling spring water samples at nearly 70°C. Block's research team confirmed for the first time the existence of extreme microorganisms, and that they were both thermophilic and acidophilic. It was this accidental discovery that opened the curtain for future research on thermophilic and extreme microorganisms.

Since then, scientists have gradually expanded the scope of their research on extreme microorganisms. In the process, the definition of extreme microorganisms has also been further improved, clarifying that extreme microorganisms refer to the general term for microorganisms that have extreme environments as their most suitable living environment.

In the past, people took it for granted that any known life survived by constantly adapting to the natural environment, so it was impossible for life to exist in some extreme environments, such as deserts, deep sea trenches, and extremely cold places. However, one discovery after another in the past few decades has continuously overturned and revised people's understanding of nature.

Alan Bull, a microbiologist at the University of Kent in the UK, explored the driest desert on Earth, the Atacama Desert that stretches across northern Chile, where he discovered a variety of actinomycetes that can withstand strong ultraviolet radiation and extreme drought.

Atacama Desert

In 2013, Ronnie Glud (ecologist) of the University of Southern Denmark proved that there are microorganisms in the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and the environment they live in is completely dark, extremely cold and under great pressure. Many of their analysis samples came from 11 kilometers below sea level, and the microbial abundance (an indicator of diversity) reached 10 million/cm3, which is ten times the microbial abundance of mud samples at the top of the trench.

Mariana Trench

In 2014, David Pearce of Northumbria University in the UK analyzed the underwater sediments of Hodgson Ice Lake (located in Antarctica) and discovered a large number of microorganisms that can withstand extreme cold. The reproduction history of these microorganisms can even be traced back to 100,000 years ago!

Microorganisms are distributed all over the world, and as a special group among them, the evolution and physiological mechanisms of extreme microorganisms, as well as their special functions and contributions, have become the focus of many scientific researchers. More and more studies have shown that extreme microorganisms can make outstanding contributions to humans in at least the following two aspects:

First, as special life forms in nature, their wide variety of metabolites is a natural medicine library. It is no exaggeration to say that extreme microorganisms bear the heavy responsibility of discovering new drugs and curing many difficult and complicated diseases of mankind.

Second, some extreme microorganisms can produce hydrogen and 1, 3-propylene glycol under high pH (salinity) and high salt conditions, which makes these microorganisms have high industrial utilization value. This is because hydrogen is a new energy source that can be used to replace fossil fuels, and the organic substance 1, 3-propylene glycol can be used as a raw material for the synthesis of various composite materials, adhesives, and laminates and coatings.

my country started its research on extreme microorganisms relatively late, with only more than 20 years of history. However, my country has a vast territory, complex and diverse geological and geomorphological features, and special environments such as the boiling springs in Tengchong, Yunnan, the salt lakes in Inner Mongolia, and the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang have created favorable conditions for the development of extreme microbial research. Researchers should fully seize the favorable opportunity, catch up, and strive to catch up with developed countries in the field of extreme microbial research as soon as possible, so as not to disappoint nature's generous gift.

Additional material: If a nuclear war breaks out, which species is most likely to survive?

The radio-resistant coccus, nicknamed "Super Conan" by scientists, is the most likely survivor.

Radiodurans is found to be extremely resistant to DNA damaging agents such as ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, and hydrogen peroxide.

"Super Conan"

These characteristics are due to its efficient and accurate DNA repair system. At present, three types of DNA repair have been found in radioresistant cocci: nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, and recombination repair. In addition, scientists have used it in the development of time capsules. They found that if certain information is left in the DNA of radioresistant cocci, this information can be passed on for at least 100 generations! Given the long-term preservation of bacterial strains, its "shelf life" is quite impressive.

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