Ancient Microbobe Found in Buried Antartic Lake

Summary:
     Sixty-feet below Antartica's icy surface, a diverse amount of microbes have been found living in extremely salty water without oxygen or sunlight. It is said that these organisms have lived and survived in the seawater-freezing temperatues for a millennia. Scientist believe that this discovery may shed light on the range of extreme enviornments that life can exist in, not just on Earth but in other alien worlds such as below the surface of Mars. The brine in this lake has been dated to be isolated from the surface for at least 2,800 years old. Due to the lake's saltiness, which is about five to six times more salty than the saltiness of ocean water, it keeps the water from freezing like freshwater or seawater would. The discovery of these extremophiles also backup the theory that "wherever you find water, you find life." The brine has very high levels of carbon-compounds that are the building blocks for life.This brine also contains molecular hydrogen which might serve as the feul to support microbial life.

Relevance:
     This article shows that life can exist in extreme enviornments. These organisms, like the ones that we have learned about, are considered to be extremophiles, or organisms that live and survive in extreme conditions. Specifically, these organisms are considered to be halophiles because they are 'salt-loving'. We have also discussed how some microbes are able to survive in enviornments without oxygen, making them anaerobic, and how when some organisms evolved to make oxygen, it most likely caused a mass extinction of anaerobic microbes but some were able to survive.


13 December, 2012 copyright: OurAmazingPlanet
http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/life-in-lake-vida-antarctica-121127.htm

2.7M Year Old Fungus Found Living Under the Sea

    Scientists recently found an old fungus living on the seafloor in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The fungus lives in a mud that has been dated to 2.7 million years old. In the mud, and at the seafloor, there is a large community of microbes and other organisms that we have never seen before. Because the individual cells of such organisms are so small, searching the water for them is a large task. Researcher William Orsi, from Woods Hole, used a different technique to find the fungus. He looked for rRNA in the ocean water. Since rRNA is used in making proteins, the presence of rRNA would indicate that something is synthesizing proteins. After finding rRNA, his team targeted the mud and found the fungus.
    The presence of fungi correlates to the presence of carbon in organic molecules in the surrounding environment, and this suggests that one of the fungi's roles in this community is to recycle carbon.

Side Note: Orsi found a whole community, not just a fungus, but the fungus attracted the most attention, probably because fungi can be used to create organic compounds that people can use. Other organisms he found include various protists, dormant diatoms, green algae, and metazoans (any animal except for a protozoan or sponge).

Relevance: We learned about fungi's role as a chemical recycler in Term 3, and the fungi's role in this newly discovered community is carbon recycling. The fungus is particularly interesting to people because human uses for fungi can involve breaking down waste products and creating medicinal compounds, and this fungi may aid with production or breakdown of a specific compound that is either rare, or can't be broken down with current technology.



Source:
http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/07/17225644-27-million-year-old-fungus-found-deep-under-seafloor?lite

Bees can sense electric charge from flowers

Summary: Researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered that electric fields attract bees to flowers and help them remember their previous stops. Previously, scientists had known of features such as vibrant colors, patterns, smells, UV light, and petal temperature, shape, and texture that promote pollination. Electric fields are just another way flowers advertise themselves. Bees can remember flowers they've already visited by their electric fields, which allows the bee to not waste time figuring out which flower it has already been to, and it can use its time more efficiently. The flowers also benefit, because they get pollinated faster. Flowers have a negative charge compared to the surrounding air, and bees become positively charged from flying through the air and rubbing its appendages against itself. In an experiment conducted by the researchers, bees were released among fake flowers. Half of the flowers contained sugar water, and half contained quinine (a substance that bees hate). When the fake flowers were given a small electric charge, the bees quickly learned which flowers had sugar water. However, when the charge was turned off, the bees went back to randomly tasting flowers. In addition to this, the scientists also discovered that the plant's electric field is charged by the arrival of the bee, and remains charged for about a minute and a half afterwards. This lets other bees know that the flower has no nectar, and that there is no point in landing.

Connection: We are currently learning about plants, angiosperms (flowering plants), and the structures of flowers. This article shows some additional adaptations that promote pollination. Also, we have previously learned about symbiotic relationships, and this is a classic example of a mutualistic relationship.

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/22/172611866/honey-its-electric-bees-sense-charge-on-flowers
By Adam Cole on February 22, 2013

Hyenas Communicate with Microbes

Theo DeFuria

Media File:
http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/do-microbes-help-hyenas-communicate/
By: Kay E. Holekamp
Published: July 7, 2011

Summary:  Adult hyenas produce a waxy yellow paste from their scent glands.  These scent glands are located near their anus.  Hyenas rub their glands along grass.  By doing this they are spreading their paste on the grass.  When studied in high amounts the paste has a strong odor.  However, the paste is virtually odorless.  Hyenas have noses that are sensitive enough to smell even a minute scent of the paste on a stalk of grass.  They spread their scent to claim their territory and mark the edges of their den.  Hyenas have been known to be able to tell the scent of their clan-mates apart from the scent of strangers.  Somehow the hyenas produce unique odors in their scent glands.  Their clusters of glands are warm, moist, and nutrient rich, which are the perfect conditions for bacterial growth.  Further studies reveal that bacteria in the scent glands of hyenas vary among clans.  These microbes are the source of the unique scents.  This means that hyenas can mark their territory, and track fellow hyenas of their same social group due to microbes.  The microbes are in a mutualistic relationship with the hyenas.

Relevance:  In our past unit we studied microbes, and the symbiotic relationships they can form with multicellular organisms.  The article is an example of a mutualistic relationship between microbes and hyenas.  The hyenas benefit by getting a unique odor which they can use to communicate with other hyenas.  The bacteria get a warm, moist environment to live in.  We are about to move into a unit on animals, and we may learn about species like hyenas and forms of communication.

Deep-Sea Microbes That Barely Breathe

Summary: Scientists have found mysterious microbes deep in the Pacific Ocean in places that have been undisturbed for 86 million years that use an extremely small amount of oxygen. The microbes use so little oxygen that the levels used could previously not be measured. A study conducted by Hans Roy measured the amount of oxygen in sediment 100 feet below the surface of the Pacific. Roy and his team figured out how much oxygen should have normally been in each layer of the sediment from diffusion, and compared it to the results from the measurements in the sediment. The sediment had slightly less oxygen than predicted, meaning that it was consumed by these microbes. The amount of oxygen consumed by these microbes is so small that "it would take ten years for a microbe to consume the amount that a human inhales in a single breath." These microbes are also very slow moving, making them difficult to study. Scientists do not know much about these microbes yet.

Relevance: In class, we have discussed microbes and the different kinds of environments they live in. One domain of microbes discussed was Archaea, microbes that usually live in extreme environments with low oxygen levels. The microbes discussed in this article may be Archaea and definitely live in extreme environments just like some Archaea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/science/deep-sea-microbes-that-barely-breathe.html?_r=0
By Sindya N. Bhanoo
Published May 21, 2012

Extracting Extra Calories Through Gut Microbes

Summary:
         For a long time, gut microbes have been known to live in vast communities within the digestive system, breaking down complex carbohydrates. However, a new study at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has shown that these gut microbes not only break down the food, but also allow the organism to obtain more calories than normal from the same amount of food as a result of being able to increase the amount of dietary fats being absorbed in the intestine.  
        Scientists at the university decided to show the role of gut microbes in dietary fat metabolism by conducting their experiment on zebrafish, which, when young, are optically transparent. They then fed the fish with fatty acids, which they dyed with florescent dye. This allowed them to observe in different conditions (the absence and lack of gut microbes), the absorption and movement of the fatty acids. This experiment clearly showed how the the gut microbes absorbed the dietary fats and resulted in extra calories from the same amount of food.
         Further research showed these gut microbes to be a group of bacteria, called Firmicutes, a key item in increasing fat absorption. The amount of Firmicutes present in an organism has since then been found to be linked to the amount of food consumed by the organism; the less food consumed, the less Firmicutes are present. This concept is shown in humans, as scientists have found Firmicutes to be present in generally large amounts in obese individuals. 
         In the future, scientists and doctors will be able to use this new information in health care to solve human problems such as obesity and other disorders. 
 

Relevance: 
This article is relevant to our current studies because overall, it discusses microbes. Specifically, it talks about a group of bacteria called Firmicutes and the effects they have on human fat absorption and calorie-intake. This is also an example of a symbiotic relationship; with the human being the host and the Firmicutes bacteria living within of the human digestive system, absorbing the dietary fats in the intestine while continuing to break down the complex carbohydrates of food. 

September 12, 2012 - Research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912125114.htm