Biologists have discovered a eukaryotic organism capable of surviving in hot springs, upending scientific assumptions about the conditions under which life can exist, infohub.kz reports.
The new amoeba species has been named Incendiamoeba cascadensis, also known as the "fire amoeba." The microorganism has broken the heat-resistance record among complex eukaryotic organisms. Samples were collected from hot geothermal springs in Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.
The discovery, supported by a NASA grant, is described in the scientific journal "Cell." Complex eukaryotic cells were previously thought incapable of reproducing and actively functioning at extremely high temperatures. But the amoeba found retains its vital activity and division at temperatures of 57–63 degrees Celsius, and also withstands brief heating to even higher levels.
According to researchers at Syracuse University, in particular Beryl Rappaport and Angela Oliverio, the findings prove that the survival limits of complex organic life are far broader than science had believed.
The discovery is of major importance for astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial civilizations or microorganisms. Extremophiles of this type demonstrate that eukaryotic life could potentially exist on hot exoplanets and water worlds with high levels of geothermal activity, which were previously considered unsuitable for complex life forms.