Jun 08, 2021 11:02:00

Microorganisms recovered from permafrost revived after 24,000 years

The multicellular organism 'Hirugata worm' found in the permafrost of northeastern Siberia has come back to life for the first time in 24,000 years by scientists. Bdelloidea, like tardigrades, is

known to be in a 'cryptobiosis ' state, providing new evidence that multicellular organisms can sleep for tens of thousands of years, scientists say.

A living bdelloid rotifer from 24,000-year-old Arctic permafrost: Current Biology
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00624-2

This animal survived 24,000 years frozen in the Siberian permafrost --CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/07/europe/bdelloid-rotifers-animal-survive-frozen-in-permafrost-scn/index.html

Lubov Schmakova and colleagues at the Institute for Soil Cryogenics in Russia collected soil samples from a depth of 3.5 m in the middle reaches of the Alazeya River in northeastern Siberia. The recovered soil contained an ice-rich loam layer , and the presence of microorganisms was expected.

A large number of rotifers were detected in the sample, and some of the thawed rotifers started to move normally and took feeding behavior. Click the image below to see the unzipped rotifer in action.

As a result of analyzing soil samples by radiocarbon dating and accelerator mass spectrometry, Mr. Schmakova and others found that the soil was trapped in permafrost between 23,960 and 24,485 years ago. In addition, as a result of analysis, it has been found that the discovered rotifer is a species close to Adineta vaga, a type of Bdelloidea.

Previous studies have shown that rotifers can survive for up to 10 years when frozen, but this study shows that rotifers can survive for quite some time. Co-author Stas Malavin said, 'It is an important discovery that multicellular organisms can be revived after freezing for thousands of years, and it is also a dream of many novelists. Of course, organisms are complex. The more difficult it is to freeze alive, and mammals are not possible at this time, but it is a big step forward to find that multicellular organisms as well as unicellular organisms can survive for a long time. ' I will.