Microscopic animal has come back to life after spending 24,000 years under ice in Siberia

A microscopic animal called bdelloïde rotifer He came back to life after being frozen for 24,000 years in the Siberian permafrost and next I have clones of himself, a team of Russian scientists said on Monday.

Stas Malavin, co-author of an article in the magazine Current biology About the discovery, he said it raises intriguing questions about the mechanisms used by the multicellular animal to support your long rest.

“Our report is the strongest evidence to date that multicellular animals could withstand tens of thousands of years in cryptobiosis, almost completely stopped metabolic state“said Malavin of the Institute for Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems in Soil Sciences, located in Pushchino, Russia.

The research team used a drilling rig to collect core samples from the Alazeya River in the Russian Arctic, then used radiocarbon dating to determine that the specimen’s age was between 23,960 and 24,485 years.

They had previously identified single-celled microbes capable of similar feats.

A worm came back to life after 30,000 years

With regard to multicellular organisms, there has been a report of a 30,000-year-old nematode worm that has come back to life, and mosses and some plants have also regenerated after thousands of years trapped in ice.

Rotifers can now be added to the list of organisms that can apparently survive indefinitely, Malavin said.

Once thawed, the animal could reproduce asexually through a process called parthenogenesis.

Rotifers are about half a millimeter long and are usually they live in freshwater environments.

Its name is derived from Latin for “wheel carriers”, which alludes to the crown around his mouth, which resembles a spinning wheel. They use it for move and feed.

“We can use this organism as a model to study freeze survival and drying survival in this group, and compare this group with other tough animals such as tardigrades, nematodes, etc.,” Malavin added.

AFP Agency.

GML