Unusual organisms found in hot springs of Yellowstone National Park might help in search for alien life

Scientists have found two never-before-seen groups of microbes that live in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park,United States. The discovery, made by researchers from Montana State University, was published in the journal Nature on July 24.

The study, titled, "Cultivation and visualization of a methanogen of the phylum Thermoproteota", revealed that the new microbe groups are dubbed Methanomethylicia and Methanodesulfokora. They are methanogens, single-celled organisms that produce methane.

Methanogens, known to science since 1933, are methane-producing bacteria, especially an archaean which reduces carbon dioxide to methane, unlike humans and other animals who eat food, inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide to survive.

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The findings of the research may have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life and the fight against climate change.

It was earlier believed that all bacteria that produced methane belonged to a single phylum called Euryarchaeota. Now, the discovery of the two new microbial groupings confirms that methane-producing microorganisms are more diverse. They were previously only identified from DNA samples.

Methane is a gas that is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere.

In a statement, microbiologist Roland Hatzenpichler of Montana State, an author of the paper, said: "All we knew about these organisms was their DNA. No one had ever seen a cell of these supposed methanogens; no one knew if they actually used their methanogenesis genes, or if they were growing by some other means."

Two distinct study groups—one from China and the other from the US—have succeeded in cultivating these microorganisms in the lab, confirming that they actually produce methane.

The finding is significant as methanogens produce 70 per cent of the world's methane, with Hatzenpichler saying: "Methane levels are increasing at a much higher rate than carbon dioxide, and humans are pumping methane at a higher rate into the atmosphere than ever before."

Scientists are still trying to find out whether Methanomethylicia in non-extreme conditions grows by using methanogenesis or if they use some other mechanism.

They may be able to change the circumstances in their habitats and reduce the amount of methane released into the atmosphere if they comprehend this.

"My best bet is that they sometimes grow by making methane, and sometimes they do something else entirely, but we don't know when they grow, or how, or why. We now need to find out when they contribute to methane cycling and when not," Hatzenpichler said.

Will this aid the search for 'aliens'?

Newsweek said in its report that the exobiology programme of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also funded the research.

The US-based space agency is invested in methanogens because they may give insights into life on Earth more than three billion years ago as well ashint atthe potential for life on other planets and moons where methane has been detected.

(With inputs from agencies)