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New Amoeba Species Thrives at 63 Degrees Celsius
Developing
In Short: Microbiologists have identified a new species of heat-loving amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which can divide at 63 degrees Celsius (145 degrees Fahrenheit) and remain motile up to 64 degrees Celsius (147 degrees Fahrenheit).
Microbiologists have identified a new species of heat-loving amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, which can divide at 63 degrees Celsius (145 degrees Fahrenheit) and remain motile up to 64 degrees Celsius (147 degrees Fahrenheit).
The researchers found that Incendiamoeba cascadensis activates cellular repair systems when exposed to high temperatures, suggesting it employs unique survival strategies.
Genetic analysis places Incendiamoeba cascadensis within the Amoebozoa group, closely related to but distinct from Vermamoeba vermiformis, a heat-tolerant amoeba.
The scientists also discovered matching genetic signatures in metagenomic databases from geothermal sites in New Zealand and Yellowstone National Park, indicating related organisms may be more widespread.
Dr. Alison Olcott, a program scientist for exobiology at NASA Headquarters, noted that finding eukaryotes in high-temperature environments expands our understanding of where life could exist and how complex it could be.
What's still developing
- The newly discovered species of amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, or fire amoeba, breaks well past both marks, completing full cell division, including visible mitosis, at 63 degrees Celsius.
- “Thermophiles are organisms with high thermal limits and optimal growth at or above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit),” said Syracuse University doctoral student Beryl Rappaport and her colleagues.
- “We were able to uncover many strategies that could help Incendiamoeba cascadensis survive at high temperatures, and some of these strategies could be used by thermophiles across all life,” Rappaport said.
- For decades, the accepted upper temperature limit for eukaryotic life — organisms whose cells contain a nucleus, including everything from fungi to animals — hovered around 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit), based on a handful of heat-tolerant fungi and red algae.
- A few amoebae had pushed slightly past that, with one species topping out near 57 degrees Celsius (135 degrees Fahrenheit).
Sources
- Sci.Newslink