New type of bacteria feeds only on air


It was discovered for the first time a bacteria that feeds solely from the air, being also much more resistant to organisms, presenting a greater capacity of survival to the chemicals present on the atmosphere, and this unprecedented discovery, radically change the method used for researching life on other planets.

The microbes found on the Antarctic continent are able to resist only needing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and are able to withstand extreme situations where other sources of energy would be scarce.

So far, it has never thought, but after this incredible discovery, it poses the simple question of not being available to the elements present in the atmosphere, enough for these organisms to subsist.

Because Antarctica is one of the most rigorous and inhospitable environments known to man on Earth, there has always been the question of how these simple organisms managed to survive in situations where in some cases there is no access to water and extreme negative temperatures during strict months of darkness, with a very high exposure to ultraviolet rays.

In order to find out how bacteria could survive under the conditions described, scientists collected different soil samples from several distinct regions of the continent, where life and energy sources are virtually nonexistent.

The scientists then analyzed the microbial DNA of the soil in sections, joining the results in a sequential method in order to obtain a complete sequence, and after this analysis the scientists were able to identify two new bacteria, a WPS-2 and AD3.

The species of bacteria that existed in greater abundance in the soil had genes with high affinity for hydrogen and carbon monoxide, being able to then absorb these gases at a faster rate than would be common and thus surviving.

The next step is to understand if these bacteria, which basically feed in the air, exist only on that continent, or are much more common than what we think and exist all over the planet. The fact that these bacteria do not need abundant light to survive, states that there also needs to be a change in the kind of planets that we should focus on when we look for life for our planet.