Sustainable energy sources have been among the topic of various studies regarding alternatives for the traditional but limited and damaging providers we have at hand, such as fossil fuels. In the recent decade, much research focused on the natural chemical hydrogen as the new and most reliable energy source. While we are still far from perfecting a hydrogen-based power source, a recent study found that microorganisms that are buried in the ice structures of Antarctica were the first to use the same element for energy, and this process has been ongoing for the past billions of years now.
Airborne Hydrogen Fuel for Microorganisms
The study on hydrogen as Antarctic bacteria's fuel source was made possible through the information collected from 451 distinct microorganisms unearthed from the region's ice-covered terrains. Most of the specimens were gathered from East Antarctica, and through a series of analyses, it was confirmed that many of them had been using hydrogen as a fuel for living.
Despite the recent developments on harnessing natural and renewable hydrogen, the microorganisms were the first to have the ability to collect the element straight from the air. According to a report by The Conversation, the genetic examinations from the bacterias also identified that the organisms were already a product of diversion from various types in many regions and continents before they were even discovered in Antarctica.
East Antarctica's Mackay Glacier was confirmed to have many bacterias underneath, which made the experts select it as the best spot for examining their activities. The region of the southern ice sheet was moderately covered with ice, but due to its altitude, dryness, and extremely low temperature, the area is not quite visited or even inhabited by many species. One of the most evident properties of the region is that it lacks a water supply, which makes itself infamous to the animals of the continent.
RuBisCO-Induced Bacterias and Chemosynthesis in Antarctic's Mackay Glacier
However, the extremities present in the Mackay Glacier did not stop micro bacterias from living in the region. According to an Economic Times report, numerous types of bacteria and other cellular organisms reside in just 1 gram of freshly extracted soil in the specified place. The entire ground structure from around the glacier would be enough for any studies that would look for a diverse ecosystem of bacterias.
Among the substantial findings that resulted from the study was that an enzyme known as RuBisCO is being produced actively by the community of bacterias under the soils of East Antarctica. The compound is considered among the most essential components in plants when they utilize the sunlight for carbon dioxide extraction straight out of the natural air. The natural process is best known as photosynthesis, and without it, the natural regulation of carbon dioxide on the planet would be unavailable.
When the RuBisCO-induced bacteria are examined, 99 percent of the microorganisms were identified to have a lesser capacity for capturing sunlight. But as opposed to what plans do, these bacterias utilize their RuBisCO content to generate a distinct process called chemosynthesis.
Instead of converting CO2 through sunlight to create biomass, the East Antarctic's microorganisms utilize inorganic compounds including methane, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen to produce their nutrition supply, such as water. The study was published in the journal PNAS, titled "Multiple energy sources and metabolic strategies sustain microbial diversity in Antarctic desert soils."
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