California lake full of cyanide hiding previously unknown creatures

Eastern Sierra Nevada's Mono Lake is harbouring a creature that has not been seen previously. Scientists have identified an unknown microscopic organism in the water body which can provide hints about complex animal life originated on Earth. It is a type of choanoflagellate, a single-celled microorganism, and is linked to animals.

The creatures found in the lake and animals that roam Earth have a common ancestor, which makes the discovery crucial in many ways. Scientists are hoping to understand how life transitioned from single-celled to multicellular.

"I'm fascinated by the origin of animals, but it turns out that you can't really study it from the fossil record because the first animals were small and squishy," co-author of the study, Nicole King, told Newsweek. He is a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley.

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He added that choanoflagellates have been known to be "the closest living relatives of animals" but "no one was studying them."

King adds in the study published online in the journal mBio that "choanos" can form multicellular colonies, similar to what transpired in the early stages of animal embryonic development. This is why they can prove helpful in understanding ancient evolutionary processes.

Mono lake containscyanide

Mono lake has an inhospitable environment and " only the hardiest of extremophiles" can call it home, King says. "Mono lake is hypersaline; I think it has three times the salinity of the ocean and is hyperalkaline," King said. "It also contains high levels of toxins, including cyanide."

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However, the discovery of the organism means that the lake has much more to offer. The Barroeca monosierra choanoflagellate interacts with bacteria in interesting ways.

One of them is quite an interesting one, where a single-celled organism suddenly becomes multicellular. "Certain bacteria can cause them to switch from being single-celled to multicellular," King said.

Bacteria can also cause choanos to mate. King said that they act like an aphrodisiac for the creature because they suddenly leave their solitary asexual lives and get together with these molecules.