Russia finds 'new bacteria' in Antarctic lake
Source: AFP |
March 8, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
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RUSSIAN scientists believe they have found a wholly new type of bacteria in the mysterious subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica.
The samples obtained from the underground lake last May contained a bacteria which bore no resemblance to existing types, said Sergei Bulat of the genetics laboratory at the St Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics.
"After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database," he said. "We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified."
The discovery comes from samples collected in an expedition in 2012 where a Russian team drilled down to the surface of Lake Vostok, which is believed to have been covered by ice for more than a million years but has kept its liquid state.
Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica and scientists have long wanted to study its eco-system. The Russian team last year drilled almost 4 kilometers to reach the lake and take the samples.
Bulat said that the interest surrounded one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86 percent similar to previously existing forms.
"In terms of work with DNA this is basically zero. A level of 90 percent usually means that the organism is unknown."
He said it was not even possible to find the genetic descendants of the bacteria.
The samples obtained from the underground lake last May contained a bacteria which bore no resemblance to existing types, said Sergei Bulat of the genetics laboratory at the St Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics.
"After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database," he said. "We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified."
The discovery comes from samples collected in an expedition in 2012 where a Russian team drilled down to the surface of Lake Vostok, which is believed to have been covered by ice for more than a million years but has kept its liquid state.
Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica and scientists have long wanted to study its eco-system. The Russian team last year drilled almost 4 kilometers to reach the lake and take the samples.
Bulat said that the interest surrounded one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86 percent similar to previously existing forms.
"In terms of work with DNA this is basically zero. A level of 90 percent usually means that the organism is unknown."
He said it was not even possible to find the genetic descendants of the bacteria.
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