An international team of microbiologists from Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark has discovered unusual U Sulfurimonas bacteria
Deep in the ocean, on the borders of tectonic plates,underwater volcanoes form hydrothermal vents. From these sources comes a hot, oxygen-free liquid containing large amounts of metals such as iron, manganese, or copper. When hot water mixes with the surrounding cold and oxygenated lake water, hydrothermal plumes are formed containing smoke-like metal sulfide particles.
The researchers found that these plumes are home to previously unknown bacteria from the genus Sulfurimonas.Such bacteria often live in the hot water near hydrothermal vents.To obtain energy, they use the sulfide released from them.
Previously unknown species U Sulfurimonas plumahas adapted to an alternative environment: they live in cold water near smoky streams. Unlike their deep-sea relatives, the bacteria of this species are aerobic, meaning they require oxygen to survive. These microorganisms are active at temperatures from 0 to 4 °C and use hydrogen instead of sulfides.
Researchers believe that the hydrothermal plumenot only spreads microorganisms from hydrothermal vents, but can also provide an ecological link between the inhabitants of the open ocean and the seabed.
Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that USulfurimonas pluma may have evolved from an ancestor associated with hydrothermal vents, but developed a higher tolerance for oxygen and then spread across the oceans.
Massimiliano Molari, microbiologist at the Max Planck Institute and study co-author
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On the cover: "black smoker" - an underwater volcano at a hydrothermal vent. Image: W.R. Normark, Dudley Foster, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons