Scientists from Montana State University have found that microscopic life in Yellowstone National Park’s hot springs could reveal how life first adapted to oxygen. These microbes thrive in the boiling waters of Octopus and Conch Springs, forming jelly-like streamers that wave in the currents.  

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The research was conducted by geomicrobiologist Bill Inskeep, who has been studying the heat-loving microbes of Yellowstone since 1999 and the study was published in Nature Communications.

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Two springs, two different worlds  

Although located close to each other, the two springs have very different chemical conditions. Octopus Spring has much higher oxygen levels, while Conch Spring has almost none but contains a high amount of toxic sulfide. This makes them ideal for studying how early life survived in changing environments.  

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Learning from Yellowstone’s microbes  

By studying the microbes' genes and activities, researchers found that those in oxygen-rich Octopus Spring were more diverse and actively used oxygen. Meanwhile, microbes in the sulfide-rich Conch Spring still had the potential to use oxygen, showing that early life may have found ways to adapt even in low-oxygen conditions.  

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A window into Earth's past  

These findings suggest that before Earth’s atmosphere became rich in oxygen, early microbes might have used tiny amounts of it to survive. Yellowstone’s hot springs provide a natural laboratory to explore how life made one of its most important transitions billions of years ago.

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