The researchers used gene sequencing, cell counts, and incubation experiments to study
Although asteroid impacts caused seriousdisturbances in terrestrial organisms and ecosystems, the formed crater can be an ideal breeding ground for new life, the authors of the study note.
The heat and pressure from the impact created a sterilethe area that caused the local disappearance of bacteria. However, after about a million years, the crater cooled to a temperature low enough for microbial life to return and evolve in isolation from life on the Earth's surface over the past 65 million years.
What is this life like?
As part of the study, scientists discovered bacteriain nutrient-poor and still relatively hot (about 70 ° C) granite rocks with impact cracks in the lower layers. The authors of the work note that life is similar to the usual microbial found in marine sediments, but still very different.
As the deep microbial biosphere playsimportant role in the global carbon cycle, it is interesting to explore how microbial communities were able to recover from this catastrophic geological event, the scientists conclude.
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