Researchers Discover 'Alien' Slime in Australian Caves

Researchers have found strange microbes in the underground caves beneath Australia's Nullarbor Plain which are filled with water. These microbes survive the dark world in the caves by oxidizing ammonia in the water.

"Earlier studies on the community suggested that there was an unusual chemistry going on in the caves, but we didn't know how the microbes were making a living in the cave environment," said professor Ian Paulsen, Macquarie University, lead author of the study.

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria are known to resist starvation. In fact, a certain ammonia-oxidizing bacteria called Nitrosomonas europaea can get back to life after being starved for more than a year.

In the present study, researchers used DNA sequencing and scanning electron microscopy to study the finer details of the Weebubbie cave slime community. Researchers then found a group of organisms in the cave called as Thaumarchaeota - a kind of organism that lives in the dark.

Since the caves were flooded with water in the ancient times, researchers believe that these microbes had marine origins.

"We know that the Nullarbor Plain's karst system arose from the sea in the Middle Miocene period and so this may be a clue as to where the Weebubbie Thaumarchaeota came from," said professor Paulsen in a news release from Macquarie University.

The discovery of these strange, alien-like slimly microbial communities shows that organisms continue to thrive in the most unexpected regions of the earth, where life seems to be uninhabitable.

"It just goes to show that life in the dark recesses of the planet comes in many strange forms, many of which are still unknown," said Paulsen.

The study is published in the journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.