Scientists discover first multicellular life that doesn't need oxygen

Scientists discover first multicellular life that doesn't need oxygen

www.physorg.com

Until now, the only life forms known to live exclusively in anoxic conditions were viruses, bacteria and Archaea. But in a new study, scientists have discovered three new multicellular marine species that appear to have never lived in aerobic conditions, and never metabolized oxygen.

The discovery of the new species, which live buried in sediment under the Mediterranean seafloor, metazoans, that spend their entire lifecycle under permanently anoxic conditions. A few metazoans have been known

(visit the link for the full news article)

These specific metazoans do not have mitochondria, which means no oxygen.
Could this possibly imply that these organism are not originally from earth? Perhaps from a planet that has no oxygen, or very little of it?

Instead, the new loriciferans have organelles that resemble hydrogenosomes, which are used by some single-celled eukaryotes to generate energy without oxygen.

But some say that it's an evolved form of mitochondria.
More research on this should be quite exciting!!!!

For the past 50,000 years, the basin has possessed a dense hypersaline brine layer up to 60 meters thick. The brine serves as a physical barrier that prohibits oxygen exchange between the water and sediment, making the basin completely oxygen-free. In addition, the basin is rich in methane and hydrogen sulphide, and is also home to a diverse assembly of prokaryotes that have adapted to these conditions.

Or perhaps not from another planet , just evolutionary adaptation!

www.physorg.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

What I find interesting is that hydrogen is not the fundamental molecule needed for life since it is the very foundation of our universe and its primary energy source, but both plant and animal do not need it as both feed and are fed by each other in a nicely closed system, but I truly do not believe either is needed for all life, just the majority of life on earth.

[edit on 7-4-2010 by Xtrozero]

This is so cool! Just goes to show you that life can be much hardier, stranger and dare I say more beautiful than we ever thought before. The cell's even have a different power plant! Wonderful.

"Mitochondria? Pfft Who needs it!" - An interviewed Metazoan

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Well, I daresay these are evidence of descendants of some of the very, very earliest lifeforms to have evolved on Earth.

Recall, please that in very early days, there WAS no oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.

The metabolic functions of various (yes, multi-cellular) lifeforms contributed the O2 as a waste product. OTHER life evolved to utilize that "waste" for their life functions.

It is far, far more complex than that simple scenario, of course....hard to condense billions of years into a few sentences in an online post....


This is worth reading, though:


www.solstation.com...

Years 0.1 to 0.8 Billion

Initially, the Earth's surface was mostly molten rock that gradually cooled through the radiation of heat into space. The primeval atmosphere was composed mostly of water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoxide (CO), molecular nitrogen (N2) and molecular hydrogen (H2), and hydrogen chloride (HCl) outgassed from molten rock, with only traces of reactive molecular oxygen (O2).

I doubt they're from another planet because they were found in a deep water basin which was the perfect environment for them, suggesting they evolved for those conditions. But this is a fascinating article.

If the theories about this creature hold true, this is proof that complex life can evolve without oxygen! This is pretty big news for biological science, and means there's probably even more extraterrestrial life in the universe than we previously thought!

Awesome!

I'm sure all of the "scientists" are shocked and surprised by this. I think most of us here knew that there could be lifeforms that can breath anything. Scientists are so arrogant. This is no surprise to me, but I'm glad it has been confirmed.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by ModernAcademia

 

Well, I daresay these are evidence of descendants of some of the very, very earliest lifeforms to have evolved on Earth.

Recall, please that in very early days, there WAS no oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.

That's not true. There were trace amounts of oxygen, as your own quote states:

The primeval atmosphere was composed mostly of water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoxide (CO), molecular nitrogen (N2) and molecular hydrogen (H2), and hydrogen chloride (HCl) outgassed from molten rock, with only traces of reactive molecular oxygen (O2).

Correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm no biologist, but I think most scientists believe these trace amounts were crucial to the evolution of life. Granted, as you said, organisms that created oxygen as a waste product -- the ancestors of modern plants -- did thrive in early Earth:

Just before this period, some anaerobes mutated to become "aerobic" purple bacteria (proteobacteria) that metabolize molecular oxygen and substances produced by life such as carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and water. Many microbes eventually merged into symbiosis with other microbial types (e.g., acid and heat lovers, swimmers, and oxygen producers and breathers). This was accomplished through ingestion without digestion.

...Around two billion years ago, however, some of these protists merged with oxygen-breathing purple bacteria, which became mitochondria inside them. Subsequently, some of these aerobic protists merged with photosynthetic bacteria, which became chloroplasts and other plastids, to create free-swimming green algae and the precursors of today's plant cells.

...but theoretically they couldn't have evolved without the help of the oxygen-breathing bacteria. What I'm wondering is... what's the difference between the creatures in this article and, say, multicellular algae / protists? Is it the lack of a chloroplast for photosynthesis?

i would guess that this is a prelim to life on the moon and mars....lol

I have read of documentation of single cell life in orbit with our satelites as well.


lol

Does not make it fact but makes it observed. lol

Originally posted by Magnus47
organisms that created oxygen as a waste product -- the ancestors of modern plants -- did thrive in early Earth:

You make us sound like viruses or parasites saying that we live off waste products.

Well... I guess that is what we are if you look at humanity

Very good All the pieces are finally getting put into place. What with everything else going on....it can only point in one direction
Cant wait for the thread where it says
"WE ARE NOT ALONE"
S&F

Originally posted by DocEmrick
Awesome!

I'm sure all of the "scientists" are shocked and surprised by this. I think most of us here knew that there could be lifeforms that can breath anything. Scientists are so arrogant. This is no surprise to me, but I'm glad it has been confirmed.

I beg your pardon?
That's such a sweeping set of statements, akin to saying all Christians are nutjobs or all Priests are paedophiles.

It's an interesting discovery and shows the VALUE of Science and its ongoing contribution to understanding our Planet....and beyond.

Originally posted by aorAki
It's an interesting discovery and shows the VALUE of Science and its ongoing contribution to understanding our Planet....and beyond.

I agree, although I love cosmology and astrophysics I often find our planet much more interesting than other planets.

Space is another topic though