Plants that were buried beneath glaciers in Canada more than 400 years ago and were thought to have frozen to death have been brought back to life by scientists.
University of Alberta scientists were exploring an area around the Teardrop Glacier in the Canadian Arctic. The glaciers in the region have been receding at rates that have accelerated since 2004, at about 3-4 metres per year. This has exposed land that has not seen light of day since the Little Ice Age of 1550 to 1850 AD. While inspecting this land, Dr Catherine La Farge and her team discovered a small patch of moss called Aulacomnium turgidum, a type of bryophyte. Bryophytes are different from the land plants as they don’t have vascular tissue to help pump fluids around different parts of the organism. They can survive being completely desiccated in long Arctic winters, returning to growth in warmer times.
Dr La Farge noticed that the moss had small patches of green stems, suggesting it was either growing again or could be encouraged to repopulate. Samples of the moss plant were then replanted in a lab at the University of Alberta and grew new stems.
Findings suggest that regenerated plants could help repopulate regions exposed by melting ice caps.
Picture Credit : Google
