As you may be aware, microorganisms are extremely tiny that they can be seen only through a microscope. But did you know that they are the most abundant and diverse life forms in the world? And there’s so much more we don’t know about them yet. Discoveries about these organisms are being made frequently, and some of these do not fail to surprise us humans.
Microorganisms thrive in extreme conditions such as heat or cold, and it is not surprising that they live even in the polar regions, among the harshest in the world. The deserts of East Antarctica have “little available water, temperatures are below zero”, and the winters are pitch-black without any trace of the sun, and yet, just a single gram of soil here can host “hundreds of bacterial species”. So how do these Antarctic bacteria survive? On air!
A recent research has discovered that they live using energy sources such as hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide found in air, which also contains nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Though these energy sources are found in very small quantities in air, air itself is so abundant in the region that these organisms have unlimited access to these sources. The research suggests that “90% of Antarctic soil bacteria may scavenge hydrogen from the air. The bacteria gain energy from hydrogen, methane and carbon by combining them with oxygen”. These bacteria consume atmospheric hydrogen even at temperatures as low as-20 degrees C. and they have enough to meet all their energy needs. And not just that! When these bacteria harvest energy from hydrogen, they get water as a byproduct. It keeps the bacteria hydrated, and this is a huge bonus in a place that is covered almost always in ice and where the moisture in the air is sucked by the cold air.
Picture Credit : Google
