Microbiologists in Maharashtra have found 'magnetic bacteria' in the ancient Lonar lake formed due to meteorite impact, a finding that might open a vista for searching extra-terrestrial life.The magnetotactic bacteria, which are object of interest of scientists from various fields world over, were isolated from the lake in Maharashtra's Buldana district which is the only impact crater formed in basaltic rock.
The bacteria are unique as they swim along geomagnetic field lines because they contain tiny magnetic crystals called magnetosomes, said Mahesh Chavadar, a microbiologist at the Yashwantrao Chavan College of Science in Karad.The fact that the bacteria was found in the lake has thrown open doors for research on life outside universe.
"This seems to hint at a certain correlation between these bacteria and meteorites, and that could have tremendous implications on the search for extra-terrestrial life. We need to explore if life outside the earth existed in this form," Chavadar said reporting his findings in a recent issue of 'Current Science'.
The bacteria was first discovered in 1975 and only a few cultures of the micro-organisms are available in laboratories across the world.Chavadar said scientists have found that magnetic nano-crystals in Martian meteorite ALH84001 were similar to bacterial magnetosomes. The meteorite dating back to 4.5 billion years was found in Antarctica in 1984.In light of the ecological importance of magnetic bacteria in bio-geochemical cycles, their study in hitherto unexplored environments can be significant.The magnetotactic bacteria have the ability to orient and migrate or swim along geomagnetic field lines, a behaviour referred to as magnetoaxis.This property is based on specific intracellular structures -- the magnetosomes -- which are tiny magnetic crystals composed of iron minerals.The presence of magnetosomes in the bacteria was confirmed by measuring their iron content which was found to be much greater than the nonmagnetic cultures."Intracellular iron accumulation studies on these bacteria showed up to 11.5 times more iron than non-magnetic bacteria," Chavadar said.
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