Detecting large numbers of bacteria on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean

The new group of bacteria is a related family of sexually transmitted pathogens, proliferating in high-pressure and hypoxic environments.

The scientists found that large numbers of Chlamydiae bacteria live at a depth of 3 km from the surface of the Arctic Ocean, growing a few meters below the seabed sediments. Despite great pressure and lack of oxygen, they still thrive, even seeming to occupy several areas under the sea. The study was published in Current Biology journal on March 5.

Illustration of Chlamydiae bacteria.(Photo: Live Science).

The newly discovered bacteria are related to Chlamydia trachomatis , the bacteria that causes Chlamydia , the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 2.86 million people get Chlamydia every year. Chlamydia trachomatis belongs to class Chlamydiae. Many bacteria of this class depend on their hosts for survival.

"Finding Chlamydiae in this environment is something we completely didn't expect. The question is what are they doing here?", Lead author of the study, Jennah Dharamshi, an expert in microbial diversity. and evolution at Uppsala University, said.

Dharamshi and his colleagues discovered the bacteria by collecting sediment samples near Loki Castle, the hydrothermal vents located between Iceland, Norway and the Svalbard Islands. The team of scientists studied all the genetic material in the sample. Unlike its "brother", the newly discovered group of bacteria Chlamydiae does not seem to depend on the host to live. However, they can derive nutrients from surrounding microorganisms.

"Even if this group of Chlamydiae bacteria is not attached to the host, we think they need compounds from other microorganisms living in marine sediments," said Thijs Ettema, research author and professor of microbiology. study at Wageningen University.

"The role of this group of bacteria in the marine ecosystem may be greater than we ever thought," said co-author Daniel Tamarit, an expert at Ettema's lab.

The team hopes to grow these bacteria in the laboratory. However, their habitat is so special, it doesn't have oxygen and is under great pressure, so this is no small challenge, according to Ettema. Studying them in the laboratory could help reveal how ancient Chlamydiae evolved to infect Earth's animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms.