An ancient worm, frozen for millennia in the glaciers of Siberia, has been resurrected by scientists. It is a life form even older than scientists previously believed.
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In 2018, several resurrected nematodes, belonging to the genus Panagrolaimus, were studied, and were 32,000 years old. Currently, the most accurate radiocarbon dating shows that these soil worms have remained “alive” in areas of Siberia for at least 46,000 years, since the end of the Pleistocene period.
If proven correct, this would be the longest known state of extreme inertness observed in the animal kingdom. This phenomenon is known as cryptobiosis.
After restoring the frozen worm in the lab and culturing it for over 100 generations, researchers, led by experts from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, performed an analysis of the genome.
The female microscopic worm that spent the last 46,000 years in a vacuum state within the permanent permafrost of Siberia revived and began to produce offspring in a laboratory dish.
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It is claimed that this creature is a recently discovered species, known as Panagrolaimus kolymaensis.
The process the researchers followed was simple. They thawed the soil, taking care not to heat it too quickly to avoid “cook” the nematodes. The worms then began to swirl, eat bacteria in a laboratory dish and reproduce.
To date, scientists have limited knowledge about animals that can survive in vacuum-like conditions, thus reacting to adverse environmental conditions.
Rotifers, slow, threadlike, and microscopic aquatic organisms, are just a few of the animals known to be capable of exploiting cryptobiotics. Based on our knowledge of this unique life state, these animals could remain in this void indefinitely ,until their survival conditions improve.
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The longest recorded time for cryptobiosis among living worms is only 39 years. However, the new “queen” of cryptobiosis is many thousands of years older than the previous.
