In the harsh and salty waters of California’s Mono Lake, scientists have uncovered a fascinating new microbe species that could provide crucial insights into the origins of complex life. This tiny organism, named Barroeca monosierra, belongs to a group of microbes called choanoflagellates single celled creatures known for their ability to cluster together and form colonies that closely resemble multicellular lifeforms.
What makes B. monosierra particularly intriguing is its ability to thrive in an environment where few other life forms can survive. Mono Lake, almost three times saltier than the Pacific Ocean and filled with chlorides, carbonates, and sulfates, is home to only a handful of resilient species. Despite these inhospitable conditions, B. monosierra not only survives but forms colonies of nearly 100 cells four times larger than those of its closest relatives.
But the surprises don’t stop there. The centers of these colonies harbor smaller communities of live bacteria, making B. monosierra one of the simplest organisms to possess its own microbiome. Researchers from the US, UK, and Spain suggest that these bacteria may be sheltering from the toxic lake water within the choano colonies or could even be cultivated by the choanos as a future food source.
Choanoflagellates, often considered the closest living relatives of animals that aren’t themselves animals, are of particular interest to biologists. Their colony-forming behavior could provide a missing link in understanding the evolutionary transition from single-celled to multicellular organisms. B. monosierra’s colonies, with their hollow centers and cells connected by a protein and carbohydrate matrix, resemble a blastula a hollow ball of cells that forms early in animal development.
Nicole King, a cell biologist from the University of California, Berkeley, explains, “One of the things that’s interesting about them is that these colonies have a shape similar to the blastula… We wanted to learn more about it.”
The discovery of B. monosierra also marks the first time a stable physical interaction between a choanoflagellate and bacteria has been observed. Previous studies had shown that choanos respond to bacterial molecules or consume bacteria, but this is the first case where a potential symbiotic relationship or microbiome has been identified.
The research team is now planning to use B. monosierra to study the interactions between bacteria and more complex organisms, potentially shedding light on how life evolved from single-celled to multicellular forms. This groundbreaking discovery not only enhances our understanding of life in extreme environments but also offers new avenues for exploring the origins of complex life on Earth.The research was published in the journal mBio.
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