in a place like Chernobyl and FukushimaWith a nuclear disaster flooding the environment with dangerous radiation, it stands to reason that life might evolve ways to survive it.

However, one of the most radiation-resistant organisms ever discovered did not come from a place completely free of radioactive materials. Archaea called thermococcus gamma tolerance It can withstand an extraordinary radiation dose of 30,000 Gy. This is 6,000 times the radiation dose. systemic dosage It can kill humans within weeks.

in Guaymas Basin Gulf of California, approximately 2,600 meters (8,530 feet) below sea level, hydrothermal vent It spits a superheated mineral-rich liquid into the surrounding darkness. What’s there is T. Gamma tolerance Their habitat is far away from human structures such as nuclear reactors.

The hydrothermal rice fields of Guaymas are areas where cracks have formed in the ocean floor, allowing volcanic heat and chemicals to flood into the water.

Between the crushing pressure of water without light deep sea deep sea These environments are blindingly harsh on humans, including extreme heat. It’s only natural that we would want to know how life is managed in such places so that we can not just survive, but thrive.

T. Gamma tolerance It was first discovered decades agowhen scientists used submersibles to collect samples of microorganisms living in hydrothermal vents.

Back in the lab, a team led by microbiologist Edmond Jolivet from France’s National Center for Scientific Research exposed the enriched cultures to 30,000 Gy of gamma radiation from the lab. cesium 137 sauce. One species in particular continued to grow even after being irradiated with an astonishing 30,000 Gy.

The species is not previously explained Archaeanamed T. Gamma tolerance. It was quietly living its best life attached to a fumarole in Guaymas, possessing resistance to dangers to which it would not normally be exposed.

That doesn’t mean you can’t handle the danger. T. Gamma tolerance They breed at temperatures around 88 degrees Celsius (190 degrees Fahrenheit) and feed on sulfur compounds. However, radiation resistance does not appear to be necessary for survival in microbial habitats. Before Jolivet and his team introduced the cesium-137 source, radiation was not part of the equation.

The mystery deepens 2009 paper examined the genome of T. Gamma tolerance. The team, led by microbiologist Fabrice Confalonieri of France’s Paris-Saclay University, expected to find that a higher proportion than usual would be spent on protection and restoration. However, no obvious redundant DNA repair mechanisms were found. T. Gamma tolerance” kit was surprisingly ordinary.

So if the answer is not in the microbial DNA, perhaps the answer may be found in the damage itself. in 2016 paperA team led by chemical biologist Jean Breton from the University of Grenoble-Alpes has investigated exactly how ionizing radiation affects the body. T. Gamma toleranceand how microorganisms react.

The researchers exposed archaeal colonies to gamma radiation from a cesium source at doses of up to 5,000 Gy and recorded the results. Their experiments showed that gamma rays still cause harm T. Gamma toleranceDNA – This microorganism is not invincible – but oxidation damage The damage caused by free radicals released by radiation was significantly lower than expected.

Additionally, repair enzymes were on standby to act quickly, and much of the damage was repaired within an hour.

I don’t know the exact reason yet, but T. Gamma tolerance It’s so effective at limiting and repairing radiation damage that scientists think its habitat may play a role. Living in a hydrothermal vent means constant exposure to extreme heat, chemical stress, and reactive molecules that can also damage DNA.

Related: Extreme “fire amoeba” breaks heat resistance record

The systems that help microbes survive in the oxygen-free darkness of boiling water may also protect them from ionizing radiation. Formed by evolutionary pressures T. Gamma tolerance That’s because, as a byproduct, life forms within hydrothermal vents may also have had an uncanny ability to withstand doses of radiation that would kill much larger organisms.

T. Gamma tolerance I’m not a radiation expert. There’s no reason for that to happen. It is unlikely that the deep ocean experienced sustained, intense radiation that would have shaped its biology for millions of years.

Evolution has a concept – sufficient survival. system that enables T. Gamma tolerance The ability to withstand the boiling volcanic chemistry of the ocean floor was sufficient for life in hydrothermal vents.

It also has an amazing resistance to radiation, one of those rare moments when “good enough” turns out to be an anomaly.