Chinese researchers have discovered numerous unknown bacteria in Tibetan glacier ice. Some of the microorganisms were subsequently cultivated in the laboratory for further analysis. Microbes are known to survive in extreme environmental conditions, including bacteria that can survive interplanetary travel and microorganisms that live at a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius under the ocean floor. Scientists from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Lanzhou University have discovered around 1,000 bacterial species living in the harsh environment of the Tibetan highlands. The researchers created the first genome and gene catalog of the Tibetan glacier ecosystem based on their findings.
The researchers explained that glaciers’ surfaces host a variety of organisms, including bacteria, algae, archaea, fungi, and other eukaryotes. They examined snow, ice, and dust from 21 glaciers and found that 82% of the discovered genomes were previously unknown. Eleven percent of the species were found only in one of the 21 glaciers, and ten percent of the species were present in all the analyzed glacier samples. The scientists also found evidence of microorganisms in glacier ice that are more than 10,000 years old. The researchers cultivated some of the discovered bacteria in the laboratory to investigate them further and obtain a larger part of their genome.
However, the coming years could see the climate change wiping out some of the microorganisms. The Tibetan highlands, covering around 2.5 million square kilometers, are heavily affected by rising temperatures, with many glaciers (80%) already melting. The glacial microbiome, therefore, represents an invaluable chronology of microbial life on our planet, according to Yongqin, one of the researchers. The discovery of these bacteria could help scientists understand how life can survive in extreme environments and provide insights into the evolution of life on Earth.
