Ship performed an expedition for a month and a half – and found something I didn’t expect. Microalgae surprised investigators.
A recent 45 -day expedition in Arctic Remote revealed that microalgae arrested on marine ice not only are alive, but also move Actively, contrary to old ideas about life in extreme environments.
Using ice nuclei and underwater drones in the Chukchi Sea – a marginal sea between Alaska and Russia – scientists have discovered Green movies to coat the bottom of the ice.
These films, composed of diatoms, a type of microalgae, have so far been considered dormant in freezing conditions.
However, the investigators observed that the algae remain mobile even –15 °C, The lowest temperature recorded for the movement of a eukaryotic cell, a type of cell present in plants, animals and fungi.
“This is not the 1980s films cobiology,” said Manu Prakash, associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University and the main author of.
“Diatoms are as active as we can imagine until the temperature goes down to –15 ° C, which is extremely surprising ”, added the investigator.
The team collected ice nuclei in twelve research stations during the summer of 2023 and studied them on the Sikuliaq investigation ship, using microscopes built to the measure, describes the.
Observed that diatoms slide over the icy surfaces, moving through a mucus-like secretion.
“There is a polymer, similar to snail mucus, which they secrete and that adheres to the surface, like a rope with an anchor,” explained the lead author, Qing Zhang. “After pull this ‘rope’and that gives them the strength to move forward. ” This movement is driven by actin and myosin, the same proteins responsible for human muscle contraction.
Surprisingly, Arctic diatoms moved faster than their equivalents in temperate zones, suggesting evolutionary adaptation to polar conditions.
The discovery indicates that these algae perform a critical role in the transfer of resources Through the Arctic Food Web, potentially supporting from fish to polar bears. Under the ice, drones revealed extensive green areas, showing that this microbial life is a significant, though largely invisible component of the ecosystem.
Researchers warned that the melting of marine ice and eventual cuts in the financing of polar science may compromise the understanding of these fragile environments. “Many of my colleagues tell me that, Over the next 25 to 30 years, the Arctic will cease to exist”Said Prakash.” When ecosystems get lost, we lose knowledge about integer branches of our tree of life. “
