Even in the cold, Mars-like conditions of lava caves,Microbes can be found just about everywhere.
Scientists on the island of Hawai'i found a lot of novel microbes thriving in caves and lava tubes.
The structures were formed 65 and 800 years ago. Toxic minerals and gases can be found there. The lava caves of Hawai'ian are home to a lot of mats.
There are more unique life forms than expected in the samples of these mats. Researchers were not able to match the results of the 70 samples they were able to sequence with known species and genera.
The authors of the study say caves and fumaroles are under explored.
Microbes, after plants, account for most of our planet'sbiomass. Scientists have overlooked these organisms because they are so small.
The environments underground are very similar to those on Mars. There is still a lot of work to be done.
Some refer to them as " dark matter" due to the fact that 99% of the species are unknown.
New research from Hawai'i shows how obscure these life forms are.
The sites had different diversity. Older lava tubes, those between 500 and 800 years old, have more diverse microbe populations than geothermically active sites.
The younger and more active sample sites had more complex microbe interactions because they were less diverse. They may have to work together to survive.
As the environment around volcanic basalts changes, so does the community structure of the organisms that live there.
Rebecca is a microbiologist from the University of Hawaii at Mnoa.
What is it about extreme environments that help to make this happen?
In the younger lava caves, the microbes were closer to each other. Competition lowers the chance of closely related species living side by side.
There is a stalactite formation in a Hawaiian cave. The man isKenneth Ingham.
Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria existed at almost all sites.
They seem to be important players in their communities. The authors call them a hub species.
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That is just speculation for now. Prescott and her colleagues can't say what a particular microbe's role is in their underground community because only a single genes was partially mapped.
This study shows how important it is to study microbes in co-culture instead of growing them alone.
Microbial growth is not limited in the natural world. They grow, live, and interact with other organisms in a sea of chemical signals. Changing their genes can affect what their jobs are in the community.
There was a study published in the journal.
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