Unknown bacteria found in Antarctic lake water samples - institute
ST. PETERSBURG. March 11 (Interfax) - The bacterial specimen found in ice samples from the Antarctic Lake Vostok has no matches in any of the world microorganism databases, the Roshydromet Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute website reports.
"The phylotype has not been identified by species, genus and family contained in the GenBank world databases [taxonomy and DNA sequence match of less than 86%] and by phylogenetic analysis," the report said.
The results were presented on March 6 at an international conference under the theme "Space Flight with Stopover on Jupiter Moon Ganymede" at the Russian Academy of Sciences Space Research Institute.
The discovery was made at the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute Cryo-Astrobiology Lab headed by Sergei Bulat.
The contaminant database was formed in 1999 until February 2013 to identify 235 DNA types of bacteria existing in natural or artificial ice contaminants.
Scientists discovered that the upper layer of water in the sub-glacial lake did not sustain life. Only bacteria from the drilling liquid or humans were found in those samples.
New information was obtained in late February, early March. A bacterial specimen passed every contamination test.
"Some suggested that the specimen might have belonged to non-culturable bacteria Candidate Division OD1 or OP11. Yet, phylogenetic analysis did not confirm its kinship to these or other bacterial groups, such as Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, etc.," the institute said.
Russian scientists were the world's first to reach the surface of Lake Vostok in early February 2012. The lake had been sealed off under the Antarctic ice shield for millions of years. A hole of 3,768 meters was drilled on February 5.
The drilling from the Russian Antarctic station Vostok under which the lake is situated started in 1990. The Academy of Sciences compared the event with the landing on Mars. Unknown forms of life may be found there.
Vostok water samples are being tested at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute and the Limnology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Irkutsk. Some samples may be shared with the Moscow Microbiology Institute.
New pristine samples of Vostok ice will be brought to St. Petersburg in May.
The lake has been isolated from the atmosphere for several millions of years and no one knows what it may contain. Even if nothing but bacteria is found, that would be a breakthrough in science.