A team of researchers in Germany recovered algae cells buried at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, where they lie dormant for more than 7,000 years.
For thousands of years, cells imprisoned under the sediment layer have been deprived of oxygen or light. However, once resurrected, they showed full functional recovery, the researchers reported study Posted in ISME Journalemit oxygen production and reproduce again, it’s no big deal.
According to the team, this is the oldest organism in aquatic sediments recovered from dormancy, providing an amazing example of possible possibilities in emerging areas of “resurrection ecology.”
“It is worth noting that the resurrected algae not only survived, but clearly did not lose any “fitness”,” Sarah Bolius, the head of the research at the Baltic Institute, said in a study. statement About work. “They grew up, split and photosynthesis like modern descendants.”
When entering dormant state, organisms can use poor environmental conditions by storing energy and reducing their metabolism. For example, mammals like hedgehogs achieve this by hibernating, relying on their own body fat to surpass winter.
But in the Baltic Sea, some algae are allowed to survive far more than the time allowed for typical dormant states. After dormant state, phytoplankton cells sink to the sea floor, where they gradually bury them in the accumulated sediment layer.
These latest specimens were extracted from nearly 800 feet of water, a region known to the depths of East Gotland. Here, water is considered hypoxia, Meaning they have little oxygen, especially at the lowest depths. Without this element, decomposition cannot be placed. Moreover, since the seabed acts as a shield, there is no sunlight to damage dormant algae cells.
Overall, nine individual samples of algae could be recovered under the conditions where the researchers put them back in favorable conditions. According to Bolius, this is the elder’s history dating back to 6,871, plus 140 years, which is an estimate that researchers can confidently benefit from the “clear stratification” of sediments.
“This deposition is like a time capsule that contains valuable information about past ecosystems and biomes that live in, their population development and genetic changes,” Bolis said.
This is really hopeful. Bolius believes that by restoring dormant organisms, they will also learn more about the environment during their initial period of residence, such as the salinity of water, oxygen and temperature conditions.
“The fact that we were actually able to successfully reactivate this ancient algae from dormancy is an important first step in the further development of the Baltic “resurrection ecology” tool,” Bolius added. “This means that it is now possible to ‘suspend experiments’ for the Baltic development phase of the laboratory.”
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