Caves are an extreme environment for any organism to live;
there is little sunlight and nutrients plus the temperatures are usually
extreme. There is a cave called Kartchner Caverns in southeastern Arizona. The
surface environment in Arizona is dry and hot and usually not the most
desirable place to make your home if you are a tiny microbe. Recently
scientists have discovered microorganisms underground in Kartchner Caverns
where the environment is even harsher than on the surface. It is dry and hot
underground and there are little nutrients available in the cave. This stunned
scientists because they wondered how microbes that rely on organic carbon as an
energy source can survive where there is little to munch on. There is no
sunlight for them to be photosynthetic microbes but researchers found that the
microorganisms relied on water runoff that drips into the cave. This cave is
unlike other known caves because there is ten times less carbon entering the Kartchner
Caverns.
This environment seems harsh and unwelcoming for
microorganisms but there are many species that call this place home. According
to one of the scientists the microorganisms in this cave, “use the energy in
nitrogen-containing compounds like ammonia and nitrite to convert carbon
dioxide from the air into biomass." This is stunning because they have
learned to adapt their energy intake ways in order to fit into the environment.
Scientists were able to culture a few of the microorganisms and were amazed
with the results because one of the microbes that they grew had only been found
three times in history. It is very rare and we know little about it and are
curious to know if there are tons more microorganisms that are unknown to us.
Scientists also discovered that these microorganisms were
found in contaminated soils and scientists are now asking the question of
whether these microbes could help with environmental remediation. This article
had a lot of information about new microbes and what potential they had. It is
truly amazing to see if this discovery leads to new antibiotics or
environmental benefits. It could also lead to new findings all around the globe
and even on other planets.
Caves seem to be a pretty nice place for microbes in general. A lot of the caves I hear about are moist, damp, and cool which is essential for some microbes. It seems as if the Kartchner Caverns in Arizona are a little different. It’s amazing how microbes can adapt and basically change the way they live to actually “live” and survive in such an environment. Using “the energy in nitrogen-containing compounds like ammonia and nitrate to convert carbon dioxide from the air into biomass,” microbes seem like they can do it all! I do remember Diana talking about other microbes that can do something similar or maybe it was the same thing as this process, but whatever it is, is truly amazing. It’s interesting that one of these microorganisms has only been found three times in history. Where has it been? A question that arises is, what are these microbes called? Anyway, I think microbes are really fascinating in the sense that they can adapt! Of course it’s also amazing that these microorganisms can even (possibly) benefit our environment!
ReplyDelete-Angelo V.
I, like you, agree that it would be amazing if this new discovery lead to new antibiotics or if it is beneficial to the environment. It would be awesome if this new discovery were found in other parts of the world in past history, since it was found three different times in history meaning that it is extremely rare. I also wonder what causes this microbe to be reformed or created into exists. It also seems that these microbes are very similar to the sea sponges in the oceans. Sea sponges filter feed whatever is in the ocean, so it seems to reason that they are filtering the air in the cave to grow, eat and live in the cave. It stands to realize that they are filter feeding the air because Arizona is such a harsh hot desert, but its strange that the caves are just as hot. Because at the el malpiesea caves it is hot outside of the cave but it is freezing inside of it. This must be a very unique cave for it to be hot just like the exterior of the cave.
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