Biologists caught and grown a species of bacteria that, in their opinion, could be the creator of life on Earth.
These ancient bacteria - archaea, which are part of the largest structure in the classification of organisms, are known as archaebacteria. Their distinguishing feature is the structure of their body. This gave reason to scientists to classify them in a separate form. Until recently, archaea were identified by analyzing their DNA samples. They were never displayed in the laboratory.
Scientists from Japan were able to isolate these bacteria in the laboratory. To do this, microbiologists had to collect samples of mud, which was located at the bottom of the hydrothermal field, known as Locke Castle, which is located in the North Atlantic. In samples of this soil, scientists were able to detect microscopic fragments of the bacterial genotype of different species. From this mass of bacteria, scientists were able to isolate one type of archaea that was named Lokiarchaeota (this is the name of the place where the bacteria were discovered). It took them 12 years of painstaking work. They reported their discovery in an article in a scientific publication.
After some time, scientists in another laboratory were able to discover a different kind of archaea - likelike. As a result of combining these two types of archaea, the Asgard Archaean line was created. The name of this line was taken from the name of the area in which the mythical Norse gods lived.Thanks to these works, scientists got a unique opportunity to remove archaea within the walls of the laboratory, and to conduct various studies on them.
In order to be able to remove microorganisms from silt sediments, scientists needed to build a bioreactor that recreates all the conditions of a hydrothermal field and a high concentration of methane. Archaea were placed in the bioreactor, where they could freely grow, develop and multiply. This process took as long as 5 years. After that, samples of microorganisms were taken from the bioreactor and placed in test tubes with a nutrient medium. Only after 1 year did microorganisms give life signals.
After conducting a genetic analysis of the archaea, they found a line of the whimsical and demanding Lokiarchaeota, which was a huge success.
A controversial issue remains the determination of the location of these microorganisms on the Life Tree. Most scientists are unanimous that this line of archaea is the ancestor of eukaryotes.
