An international team of scientists from Germany, France, Chile and other countries has discovered two new bacteria living in the extreme environment of Chile’s high-altitude lakes; conditions are reminiscent of early Mars. The study was published in the scientific publication Journal of Proteome Research (JPR).
Experts made a discovery thanks to the method they created to more accurately identify extremophile microbes. The method is based not on the study of the genetic material of microorganisms, but on the analysis of protein fragments.
The researchers began their study with water samples from five high-altitude Andean lakes located at an altitude of more than 3.7 kilometers. Scientists grew 66 microbes from the samples taken. They then studied specific protein fragments, known as peptides, to create peptide templates and search for microorganisms with desired properties.
Using this method, experts identified two potentially new species of extremophiles.
By using protein profiling, the team says scientists will be able to both identify extraterrestrial life and better understand the biodiversity on our planet.
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