Biology 1610 Section 009
Dr. Michaela A. Gazdik Stofer
February 15th, 2017
Bacteria are among the most varied and plentiful of organisms on earth. It's not surprising to find them crawling around in lakes and rivers, underground and in the air, and even in our food and inside our bodies. But on September of 2015, a group of researchers at Ohio State University found some unexpected bacteria in shale oil and gas wells. A completely new genus of bacteria was found in these wells, and even more interesting is the fact that this bacteria was found in two completely separate wells, hundreds of miles apart. The name give to this bacteria is Canditatus Frackibacter.
The findings of these researchers were published in the September 5th edition of their journal Nature Microbiology. The article further expounds on the several puzzling circumstances under which it was found. As mentioned above, two different ecosystems of this bacteria (along with another 30 species of previously known bacteria) were found in hydraulic fracturing wells (wells designed to pump various sediments and fluids into the ground, breaking up the earth beneath the well and releasing natural gas, or methane). Not only were the wells completely isolated from each other, but even the fracturing techniques and substances used in the processes were completely different, and the shale in either well had developed millions of years apart from the other, yet the two groups of the bacteria were almost identical.
What was the most interesting to me at this point in the article was how these two isolated cultures were so alike. We know that bacteria evolves relatively quickly, due to it's extremely quick reproduction rate. We certainly see the effects of natural selection when we look at bacteria developing immunities to several common antibiotics, particularly in hospitals, where antibiotics are, in a sense, part of the "environment" these bacteria have to try to thrive in. While it is true that similar ecosystems will have similar organisms naturally, it is interesting to note that even the researchers were astounded by how similar the two bacteria groups were.
This made me think about how isolated we are here, on earth, in comparison with the rest of the universe. Given the vastness of space and the number of stars and potential solar systems, even when we consider the extremely specific circumstances that allow our earth to function, it's not hard to imagine a planet in some solar system far away, that at least somewhat resembles our own. Everyone knows how movies, television, and the media in general have depicted so called "aliens" or otherwise foreign organisms, yet, if I was to guess as to what life would look like on another planet (if it did, in fact, exist) I would imagine that it does not look too different than our own. Life seems to require very specific circumstances in order to exist.
Evolution has always fascinated me, and reading this article certainly reminded me about how amazing it is. Nature in general just works so well that it's almost crazy to think that it was by natural selection, completely random mutations, and perfect circumstances that it all exists.
Source: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/05/new_genus_of_bacteria_found_living_inside_hydraulic_fracturing_wells.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+biologynews%2Fheadlines+%28Biology+News+Net%29
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