Molecular Genealogy in the Arctic Sediment

(PhysOrg.com) — Heat-loving bacteria found in the Arctic seabed have their origins in oil springs and the depths of the Earth’s crust. This is the finding of a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, which used molecular biology to study “misplaced” bacteria such as these. The possibility that molecular biology could also help track down oil fields gives the project an interesting economic twist.

They were discovered over 50 years ago but their origins have remained a mystery. Living in the sediment of the Arctic seabed around Spitsbergen are bacteria that only really thrive in temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius.

…”While we would describe conditions in certain parts of our planet as inhospitable, others feel right at home there. Thermophilic SRMs love environments where temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius and where there is a distinct lack of oxygen. In conditions such as these, these microorganisms are able to break down organic material,” explains Project Leader Dr. Alexander Loy from the Department of Microbial Ecology at the University of Vienna, adding: “Underwater oil springs and ecosystems deep in the Earth’s crust offer just such conditions and were our first thought when trying to pin down the origins of thermophilic SRMs in Arctic sediment.”

To test out this hypothesis, Dr. Loy and his team first used appropriate molecular biological methods to determine the relationships of the thermophilic bacteria…”The closest relatives of the thermophilic bacteria in the Arctic come from oil fields in the North Sea.

…If the thermophilic SRMs in Arctic waters do originate from underwater oil springs, the methods used could also have applications in oil exploration. Although this particular aspect was not a focal point of Dr. Loy’s FWF project, it could have a very practical side effect.

Physorg