Nematode found in Siberia is 46,000 years old, says new study

Nematodes might look like roundworms, but they are much more than that. Research published on July 27 in the journalPLOS Geneticsclaims that thePanagrolaimus kolymaensisworms found in Siberia are 46,000 years old, based on the dating of the plant matter found with these nematodes. The research also compares the Siberian worm's survival mechanism with another nematode species,Caenorhabditis elegans. Laboratories around the world useCaenorhabditis elegansas a model organism.

In 2018, scientists discovered and revived two varieties of microscopic nematodes in the Siberian permafrost. They estimated the age of the worms to be 42,000 years. These tiny creatures have become the subject of more research, as scientists believe they represent a new species,Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, named after their habitat Kolyma River.

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Teymuras Kurzchalia, study co-author and a cell biologist emeritus at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, told Scientific American, "The radiocarbon dating is precise, and we now know that they survived 46,000 years."

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Panagrolaimusspecies can survive in environments that expose them to desiccation or freezing, stated Ann Burnell, an emeritus professor of biology at the Maynooth Univerity, Ireland.

Cryptobiosis is an organism's ability to suspend its metabolism in harsh situations. The wormswill be the most stunning example of cryptobiosis if they are as old as the study suggests.

Furthermore, the new study's authors guaranteed they could persuade the nematodesto enter and exit the dormancy-like state of cryptobiosis using "special preparatory cues."

The genetic analysis mentioned in the new paper is challenging in the case of P. kolymaensis because they are parthenogenic, meaning females can reproduce without a male. According to Kurzchalia, the team requires some 2,000 to 4,000 worms for one type of genetic analysis. While the common lab species,C. elegans, is easily available, the number is difficult to achieve withP. kolymaensis.

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However, some scientists are sceptical of the new study's findings. In 2018, outside researchers raised concerns that the analysed nematodes might be modern contamination.

Byron Adam, a biologist at Brigham Young University, was one of those sceptics and remains doubtful about the new work. He argues that the analysis doesn't prove the worms' age, only that of the nearby plant material. "The authors haven't done the work to show that the animals they have recovered are not simply surface contaminants," he said.

David Wharton, an emeritus professor of zoology at New Zealand's University of Otago, said the freezing mechanism the researchers tested is unrealistic because it involved drying the nematodes out before abruptly freezing them. However, he said, "I thought it was impressive and interesting work."

(With inputs from agencies)

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