A microbe discovered in the high Arctic area of Canada is surviving in the coldest temperatures known for bacterial growth, LiveScience reported.
The Planococcus halocryophilus OR1 bacteria was discovered permanently frozen into the ground on Ellesmere Island. It was thriving at a temperature of five degrees Fahrenheit but can remain active in temperatures as low as minus 13 degrees.
The discovery gives some hope that bacteria may be able to adapt and grow on colder planets such as Mars or even Saturn's moon Enceladus where temperatures are even lower.
The bacteria survive by living pockets of water that don't freeze due to salt.
Study leader Lyle Whyte of McGill University in Montreal and his team looked at the bacteria's genome sequence and discovered that the bacteria can adapt to frigid temperatures and saline because of modifications in its cell structure, cell function, and plenty of proteins that have adapted to the cold.
One of the modifications is a change in the cell's membrane that protects it from the harsh elements.
Microbes have been found living in extremely low temperatures in the past. Psychrophiles, which are most often bacteria, fungi or algae, were found living beneath sheets of ice in Siberia and Antarctica, where temperatures can range from 23 to 68 degrees.
Whyte called the Planococcus halocryophilus OR1 "our cold temperature champion."
"What we can learn from this microbe may tell us a lot about how similar microbial life may exist elsewhere in the solar system," Whyte said.
A 2006 review article in the journal EMBO describes some adaptations that other bacteria living in extreme conditions have developed to overcome their environmental challenges. Some of the challenges include slowed rates of biochemical reactions and viscous fluid environments.
The bacteria may not be helping the global warming problem, which is melting permafrost in the arctic regions. Permafrost contains dead organic matter that the bacteria use for food. When the organic matter gets broken down by the bacteria carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases are released which may contribute to global warming.
