Desulforudis Audaxviator

"This is the first time an ecosystem has been found to survive directly on the basis of nuclear energy." Er, isn't all life on this planet dependent on the nuclear reactions going on inside the nearest star?

I think it has something to do with distance and exposure....

off topic...

as well as bacterium that's in the soil that was never discovered or known before.,... when the encroachment of the rainforests, there may be a new strain of bacterium or a virus that man can not adapt to.

After thinking about uses for it,... radioactive clean up would be one... I wonder what kind of by-product (waste) it produces.

Yet another

A new bottled water product is on the horizon.

Enjoy a cool glass of natural Hormesis water.

Brought to you by the makers of glow noodles.

Interesting...

It doesn't do anything to the radioactivity, it just uses it as a heat source in place of the sun. It does metabolize CO₂, but then, so do trees.

The most interesting thing here is that it shows life thriving in an environment that might be considered as inhospitable to life. Living creatures adapt to their environment, and life on other planets might even be so strange as to be unrecognizable to us.

It's Life Jim, but not as we know it

that's he silicon based life for.... have to watch the next episode...

The " thing " starring in a Star Trek cameo, after first appearing on The Outer Limits.

I think the extremophiles in the deep see volcanic vents that are sulfur base life forms ^{(I don't know why they call it sulfur based, I think they use it as a food source, like beans )} that uses the volcanic heat instead of sunlight would have a better chance of finding an answer to the climate change.

....searching.....

I guess when you're too small to be seen, looks aren't all that important!

You know there are millions of microorganisms reading your heartless post!

That's amazing. Didn't know video of those bears existed. I assume it's color corrected? but is it real time?

The feeding snout is quite a surprise.

"A preview of "Deeper, Deeper, Deeper Still" from the producers of Cosmos. "

When you get down to the really small world it might just as well be an alien lifeform....

"Sulfur based life forms" makes it sound like sulfur replaces carbon, but I'm thinking it replaces oxygen, sulfur's upstairs neighbor on the periodic table. The terms oxidation and reduction refer to who gets custody of the electrons. Oxygen and sulfur get "reduced" and the other reagents get "oxidized" in a redox reaction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox

"Sulfur-reducing bacteria (SRB) get their energy by reducing elemental sulfur to hydrogen sulfide. They couple this reaction with the oxidation of acetate, succinate or other organic compounds.

Several types of bacteria and many non-methanogenic archaea can reduce sulfur.

Some bacteria – such as Proteus, Campylobacter, Pseudomonas and Salmonella – have the ability to reduce sulfur, but can also use oxygen and other terminal electron acceptors. Others, such as Desulfuromonas, use only sulfur.

These bacteria can be used in industrial processes to generate hydrogen sulfide for the precipitation of metals.

Some bacteria can use both elemental sulfur and sulfate as electron acceptors. See sulfate-reducing bacteria."

"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur-reducing_bacteria"

The story itself is in error,... I believe it feeds on sulfur...

I think you're right. We breathe in our oxidizing agent, the bacteria have to "eat" theirs.

"... it doesn't do anything to the radioactivity, it just uses it as a heat source in place of the sun. It does metabolize CO₂, but then, so do trees....."

It may have genes for utilizing carbon taken from dissolved CO2, but that doesn't mean that is what it does, or even can do in current form. Most genetic material is not active. Activating/deactivating genes is a huge part of evolution/adaptation.

This organism is described as sulfate reducing. I would suspect there isn't a lot of dissolved CO2 hanging out in anerobic environs a couple miles beneath the surface.

Interestingly it appears the bacteria do make use of the radioactivity albeit indirectly. Water ionization via radioactive decay apparently makes the compounds used by the bacteria available.

How might this strange bug be utilised for climate change mitigation? Any suggestions?

Rephrase to avoid the discussion going off in a tangent:

How can we utilise the bacterium to harvest energy from nuclear sources or waste for the good of mankind?

..."D. audaxviator is a Gram positive sulfate-reducing bacterium (making it the first complete such genome). The genome contains an unusual transposon and possesses many sites of insertion. Its complete intolerance of oxygen suggests long-term isolation. The hydrocarbons in that environment do not come from living organisms. The source of the hydrogen needed for their respiration comes from the decomposition of water by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium. The radiation allows for the production of sulphur compounds that these bacteria can use as a high-energy source of food."...

D. audaxviator eats sulfur and breathes hydrogen contains transposon sites in its DNA, which means it can mutate into different forms...

..."D. audaxviator not only survives in a complete absence of organic compounds, light, and oxygen, but also temperatures as high as 60 °C (140 °F) and a pH of 9.3. The physiology that enables it to live in these extreme conditions is a tribute to its unusually large genome, consisting of 2157 genes instead of the 1500 of its peers. If conditions become unfavorable for normal life, D. audaxviator is able to encyst, safeguarding its DNA from heat, extreme pH, and the lack of water.^[4]"...

..." A transposable element (TE or transposon) is a DNA sequence that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transposition often results in duplication of the same genetic material. Barbara McClintock's discovery of these jumping genes earned her a Nobel Prize in 1983.^[1]

Transposable elements make up a large fraction of the genome and are responsible for much of the mass of DNA in a eukaryotic cell. It has been shown that TEs are important in genome function and evolution.^[2] In Oxytricha, which has a unique genetic system, these elements play a critical role in development.^[3] Transposons are also very useful to researchers as a means to alter DNA inside a living organism."...

..."Astrobiologists have hypothesized that underneath the surface of many planets other microbes similar to that of D. audaxviator may exist. This is because of D. audaxviator’s gift to gather all of the nutrients it needs from surrounding rocks and dissolved CO2, and its capability to make all of its amino acids from elemental nitrogen or ammonia."...

http://web.mst.edu/~microbio/BIO221_2010/D_audaxviator-2.html (Sorry, link no longer available)

This makes it one of the few known organisms that does not depend on sunlight for nourishment

I think that statement needs qualifying. The bacteria in my gut seem to manage quite nicely in the dark.

until you die...so,... not quite.

Actually, i expect they will manage even better then, as there will be no pesky immune system to keep them in check.

Well those bacteria feed on plants and animals that were dependent on the Sun, so their chain of nourishment is from the Sun....as are the human hosts that house them....

How? Have it eat the politicians and others that are creating all the hot air.

" Its complete intolerance of oxygen suggests long-term isolation."

Finding it hard to imagine the relevance to a climate change application. I know you're hinting at dissolved CO2 but how much energy has to be consumed to dissolve CO2 in water? Compared to say the energetics of using plants to absorb CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

Also wonder how difficult it would be to culture these critters outside their natural habitat, in suitable quantity for a practical application...

I find this one more interesting: Cupriavidus metallidurans.

Haha the joke's on you, as it turns out the gold chloride is more expensive than gold....

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/334049?lang=en&region=US

...no golden goose bug .....now if you could reverse the process....oh well it's a nice dream anyway

That's just the demo stuff.

This microbe has applications potential. Metal waste recovery/remediation, and in mining too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupriavidus_metallidurans

https://www.zmescience.com/science/gold-nugget-forming-bacteria/

Are there any pilot projects planned? If the process can be scaled that might be a good step forward in extraction methods....

I'm not up to date on this, it was awhile ago I read about it. And similar cases, small pilot projects quite some time ago.

In the natural habitat, it took 30 years to produce enough metal for repeat harvest. Iron that is. There are copper specialists as well.