Spanish and Italian biologists have discovered a new species of "hairy" bacteria, Thiolava veneris. Microorganisms were the first to colonize the ocean floor after the recent eruption of an underwater volcano. An unusual find is reported in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The eruption of the underwater volcano Tagoro, which is located in the Atlantic, near the islands of the Canary archipelago, began in October 2011 and lasted more than four months. As a result of the eruption, a volcanic cone was formed, which raised the ocean floor by almost 300 meters. The temperature and turbidity of the water near the volcano have increased. Emissions of volcanic gases, in particular, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, and a decrease in oxygen concentration in the water led to the death of fish, a decrease in phytoplankton activity and a change in biogeochemical processes.
2.5 years after the eruption, the authors of the article examined the bottom in the vicinity of the volcano using a remotely controlled underwater vehicle. Not far from the top of the new volcanic cone, at a depth of about 130 meters, scientists discovered a mat of long white "hairs" that covered an area of about two thousand square meters. Upon closer inspection, the "hair" turned out to be bacteria of an unknown species, which formed threadlike structures up to three centimeters long. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the "hair" of the bacteria contained sulfur inclusions. DNA analysis of the newly found organism also showed that it belongs to sulfur bacteria, that is, it receives energy by oxidizing hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds to sulfates. For its unusual appearance, the authors of the article called the bacterium "Venus hair".
"Venus's hair", photographed with different approximations / R. Danovaro et al. / Nature Ecology & Evolution
According to the researchers, the presence of the "hairy" bacteria created a favorable environment for ecosystem restoration after the eruption. Scientists have found microscopic crustaceans, arthropods, annelids and round worms in the mat. The lead author of the study, Roberto Danovaro of the Polytechnic University of Marsha in Ancona, believes that the "Venus hair" will help scientists understand how life was in the ancient oceans when volcanic eruptions were common.
