Buried for millennia, scientists coaches 7,000-year-old algae back to life

Scientists have resurrected the 7,000-year-old phytoplankton, making it one of the oldest organisms that have ever been revived. But I know what you think: when can we bring life back from the dead?

Phytoplankton – tiny photosynthetic seaweed – is not dead, but in a deep “sleep”, known as drowsiness. As described in a a exploration Posted in early January in the Journal Isme, an international team of scientists successfully revives sleeping algae – some thousands of years – from the bottom of the Baltic Sea, returning them to full viability. Their work, quite literally, comes to life a momentary photo of the ancient ecology of the Baltic Sea.

Many life forms enter a state of sleep with reduced metabolic activity to wait for periods of difficult environmental conditions. When the phytoplankton gets into sleep, they sink to the bottom of their marine habitats, where they become layered in sedimentary deposits.

“Similar deposits are like a time capsule containing valuable information about past ecosystems and inhabiting biological communities, their population development and genetic changes,” said Sara statement from the Institute.

In 2021, Bolius and her colleagues collected the sleeping phytoplankton from sludge samples extracted at 787 feet (240 meters) below the surface of the Baltic Sea. They successfully collected and revived organisms from nine samples, some of which date almost 7,000 years.

Skeletonema marinoi– Ordinary phytoplankton species in the Baltic Sea – were the only specimens that researchers managed to revive from every sample, with the oldest returning about 6,871 years. The team claims its Skeletonema marinoi is one of the oldest organisms that have ever been revived by a state of drowsiness, and the oldest known revival organism by water sludge.

The team then analyzed the ancient phytoplankton and compared them to modern specimens. Their results revealed that the revived Skeletonema marinoi The specimens perform their biological activities as well as their modern counterparts, even though they have been deprived of light and oxygen for thousands of years.

“It is remarkable that the resurrected algae not only survived” just “, but apparently did not lose any of their” fitness “, ie. their ability to biological performance: they grow, divide and photosynthesize as their modern descendants, “Bolius said. In addition, the team documents Skeletonema marinoiGenetic profiles reveal that algae from different time periods form genetic groups within the species. This shows that the Baltic Sea Skeletonema marinoi Genetically develops over time.

In addition to the organisms themselves, other characteristics of sediment samples can also reveal ancient levels of oxygen, salt and temperatures. “As we combine all this information, we strive to understand better how and why the Baltic Phytoplankton has adapted genetically and functionally to changes in the environment,” added Bolius.

The work of her team demonstrates that “now it is possible to conduct” experiments with time “at different stages of the development of the Baltic Sea in the laboratory,” Bolius continued. “Our study also shows that we can directly trace genetic changes for many millennia – by analyzing live cells, not just fossils or DNAs.

Seems Sleeping beauty There was nothing Skeletonema marinoiS