In a renowned feature within Yellowstone National Park, scientists found an exceptional variety of microbial organisms.
Yellowstone National Park is a prime location in North America for wildlife. The park’s mountains, forests, and meadows house the largest concentration of mammals in the contiguous 48 states, including native bison and a restored population of gray wolves. Every year, millions of visitors come to the park in the hope of catching a glimpse of the diverse wildlife.
Interestingly, Yellowstone’s other notable attractions, such as hydrothermal springs, pools, and geysers that emit steam and bubbles, serve as a unique habitat for living organisms. Instead of charismatic mammals and birds, these environments are inhabited by microbes that thrive on the chaos.
While scientists have long examined the hydrological features of Yellowstone’s springs and pools, they had never before delved into the microbiology of geysers, as these geothermal features are highly unpredictable. For instance, Old Faithful, one of Yellowstone’s famous geysers, erupts approximately every 90 minutes, propelling scalding water over 100 feet into the air. This water subsequently falls through the much colder air, descends, and returns to the hot pools below.
It was challenging to imagine how anything could endure such a harsh cycle. However, in recent research presented at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Dr. Boyd and his colleagues demonstrated that Yellowstone’s geysers provide ideal habitats for certain tiny organisms.
To investigate, the team collected liquid that fell during Old Faithful’s eruption. In the laboratory, they treated the samples with a chemical designed to cause small microbes to fluoresce.
“We observed cells, which was truly exciting,” said Lisa Keller, a doctoral candidate at Montana State. “However, we needed to ensure that this wasn’t contamination since we were capturing water flying through the air.”
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After providing nourishment to the microbes and raising the Old Faithful samples to their native temperatures, there was a burst of activity at approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit, accompanied by a faint display of action at 160 degrees. Ms. Keller clarified that this indicated the microorganisms were not only acclimated to the higher temperatures but also had a preference for the warmth.
The research team utilized DNA testing to identify the microorganisms inhabiting the vents and pools of the geyser. Over 60 percent of the microbes at Old Faithful were comprised of Thermocrinis, a category of heat-loving bacteria that convert chemicals into energy. Additionally, members of two other heat-adapted microorganism groups, Thermus and Pyrobaculum, contributed to the geyser’s microdiversity.
Alfonso Davila, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames who was not involved in the study, commented on the researchers’ ability to correlate various microorganism groups with distinct environmental conditions, which he found fascinating. This work highlighted that a diverse microbiome could develop within a relatively confined geyser system.
The team proposed that this diversity was fostered by the ever-changing conditions at Old Faithful, offering everything necessary for certain microbes to flourish, such as sulfur compounds, carbon, and steaming water.
In support of their hypothesis, Ms. Keller observed that tranquil pools devoid of turbulent eruptions exhibited far less population-level diversity compared to the geyser.
Dr. Boyd emphasized that the geyser, despite being a harsh and inhospitable environment, seemed to be a cradle for biodiversity. In the sulfurous, volcano-heated, carbon dioxide-laden waters of Old Faithful, Thermocrinis thrived.
As for geysers beyond our own planet, there is evidence of geysers on Saturn’s ice-covered moon, Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moon Europa, which could potentially harbor the conditions required for microbial life to prosper. Discovering signs of life beyond Earth is not an outlandish notion.
Dr. Davila stated that the discovery of life at Old Faithful assists astrobiologists in gaining a better understanding of life thriving in extreme conditions.
He added, “The fact that life can thrive on Earth in such particular conditions provides insight into the biological potential in places like Enceladus, Europa, or even Mars.”
While it may be many years before scientists can explore potential evidence of life on those distant worlds, here on Earth, we have Yellowstone, home to around half of the world’s approximately 1,000 geysers. The more scientists investigate geysers in Yellowstone and other regions globally, the more they may discover.
Dr. Boyd expressed confidence, saying, “I would bet that any geyser we examine on Earth will support microbial life.”
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