Ancient worms revived after 46,000 years

[micropage7]

Thought to have lived in the late Pleistocene era, a small group of the worms found 40 metres deep in the Siberian permafrost have been thawed out and revived.

The worms are from the long-extinct species Panagarolaimus kolymaensis and were not actually dead, but in a dormant state known as cryptobiosis which renders their vital signs undetectable.

Scientists previously only had evidence nematodes or roundworms were able to remain in this state for up to 40 years, but these creatures coexisted with woolly mammoths.

Professor Teymuras Kurzchalia, senior author of a study of the worms, published in the journal of PLOS Genetics, and emeritus professor at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, said: "This little worm could now be in line for a Guinness World Record, having remained in a state of suspended animation for far longer than anyone thought was possible.

"That it could be reanimated after 46,000 years left me absolutely flabbergasted.

"It is rather like the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, but over a far longer period."

The worms were revived by being given food and water.

They survived for less than a month but have since spawned more than 100 generations of new worms.

To date, scientists know of very few animals capable of suspending themselves in a limbo-like state in response to tough environmental conditions.

Tardigrades, nematodes, and microscopic aquatic organisms, called rotifers, are just a few of the animals known to enter cryptobiosis.

When researchers compared the genomes of Panagarolaimus kolymaensis to one of its living relatives, Caenorhabditis elegans, they found a lot of overlapping genes between the soil worms.

Many of the shared genes are tied to mechanisms involved in surviving harsh environmental conditions.

This is interesting, as Caenorhabditis elegans is usually found in temperate regions, hiding in rotting fruit or plants.

According to the authors of the study, their findings "indicate that by adapting to survive cryptobiotic state for short time frames in environments like permafrost, some nematode species gained the potential for individual worms to remain in the state for geological timeframes".

Next, the team wants to figure out what role these shared genes play in cryptobiosis, and whether there is an upper limit to how long nematodes can remain in this mysterious state.

"These findings have implications for our understanding of evolutionary processes, as generation times may be stretched from days to millennia, and long term survival of individuals of species can lead to the refoundation of otherwise extinct lineages," the authors of the paper write.

https://news.sky.com/story/ancient-worms-revived-after-46-000-years-12929066

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/28/...-siberian-permafrost-intl-scli-scn/index.html

 

[MachineLearning]

OG paper:

A novel nematode species from the Siberian permafrost shares adaptive mechanisms for cryptobiotic survival with C. elegans dauer larva

Author summary Survival in extreme environments for prolonged periods is a challenge that only a few organisms, are capable of. It is not well understood, which molecular and biochemical pathways are utilized by such cryptobiotic organisms, and how long they might suspend life. Here, we show...

journals.plos.org

 

[R0H1T]

That it could be reanimated after 46,000 years left me absolutely flabbergasted.

Maybe they could do the same for mammoths, sabretooths, dinos etc.

They survived for less than a month but have since spawned more than 100 generations of new worms.

Be careful what you wish for

This thawing of the permafrost, aka global warning, will no doubt also release potentially threating pathogens or other (similar) life forms as well.

 

[claes]

That’s actually the premise of a pretty great show

Fortitude (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[micropage7]

Maybe they could do the same for mammoths, sabretooths, dinos etc.

the bigger the more complex it is and i dunno if it could work in the future especially when our climate getting warmer and warmer

 

[Space Lynx]

keep in mind we co-existed with these worms too. humans migrated vast and far back then, I think there is less danger than we think. the bigger danger is CRISPR genetic editing and how everyone and their mom has access to this technology (exaggerating for effectiveness)

 

[witkazy]

"It is rather like the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, but over a far longer period."

The worms were revived by being given food and water.

Wait, what? So if darn dwarfs bothered to feed poor chick she could do without being slobbered all over by the perv prince???
Cheers.

 

[R-T-B]

This thawing of the permafrost, aka global warning, will no doubt also release potentially threating pathogens or other (similar) life forms as well.

May already have. It was even a theory on the origins of COVID at one point. Probably not what actually happened, but who the hell knows anymore. We do know it was present way longer than we were aware of it in the states. A lot is still up in the air there, origins wise.

keep in mind we co-existed with these worms too. humans migrated vast and far back then, I think there is less danger than we think. the bigger danger is CRISPR genetic editing and how everyone and their mom has access to this technology (exaggerating for effectiveness)

Yeah, I mean I don't mean to call out anyone but a forum member here actually had a CRISPR kit. He jokingly offered to make me a "frog skin vaccine." He worked in biotech too. Have not seen him for a bit.

 

[P4-630]

Some scientists said there could be viruses from 1000s of years ago that we don't know of....Yes great..

 

[R0H1T]

Millions possibly.

 

[P4-630]

Millions possibly.

They don't have to be all deadly for humans, but still, you wouldn't want such to come alive again.

 

[Waldorf]

@R0H1T
very unlikely for dinos (to work), as its getting clearly those didnt get wiped out by an impact,
but because they couldnt handle the "changes".

 

[R0H1T]

I mean more along the lines of Jurassic Park.

They don't have to be all deadly for humans, but still, you wouldn't want such to come alive again.

It's at least some what exciting, humans playing God with the planet & then getting just deserts?

 

[Waldorf]

if they didnt survive back then, they wont now, unless in sealed environment..
not viable for larger ones.

 

[gurusmi]

Some scientists said there could be viruses from 1000s of years ago that we don't know of....Yes great..

Be happy if the chinese don't eat it like the bats. Just remember about Corona.

 

[freeagent]

Not sure what it is, but the detailed drawing of a worm has always given me the heebie jeebies.

I regret to inform that I cannot share in this excitement

Kill it with fire

 

[R-T-B]

Some scientists said there could be viruses from 1000s of years ago that we don't know of....Yes great..

Not really could be, there certainly are. The question is how fast we expose them and if they can affect modern humans. Sadly, the answer to that is probably just "yes."

 

[Double-Click]

That's some legendary sleep mode right there from the worm, damn.

 

[P4-630]

Got more curious?

KrioRus | the first cryonics company in Eurasia

kriorus.ru

 

[R0H1T]

Not really, I've been looking for cryonics for over 2 decades now! It's just like that "FTL" breakthrough, almost always within reach but never there

 

[Lew Zealand]

As mentioned in the paper, the related model organism C. elegans is already known to do this suspended animation (dauer stage) and is very well studied for this and many other reasons. Both worms do it using similar mechanisms which have been honed over many thousands of generations. Mostly by removing as much water from the cells as can be tolerated and then infusing what's left with sugars. Seems to be trehalose and glucose. Why? Because ice forms crystals which shred cell membranes, thus destroying all cell integrity. Without these mitigating factors, a normally frozen cellular organism becomes closer to a general biological soup after thawing instead of a nice ordered collection of interacting cells.

For this to work on higher animals or people we'd need to find a way to do something similar which is highly likely to be impossible as larger animals are collections of many orders of magnitude more cells than the roughly 1,000 of these little worms. Maybe these will someday lead to better ways of organ preservation for transplant or similar? That's not out of the question.

 

[R0H1T]

I thought I read somewhere that a few mammals can also pull something similar but maybe not?

For this to work on higher animals or people we'd need to find a way to do something similar which is highly likely to be impossible as larger animals are collections of many orders of magnitude more cells than the roughly 1,000 of these little worms.

Already done by a few animals, the wood frog being the standout ~

5 animals & 1 superbug that can freeze, thaw & live

What extreme adaptations are necessary for survival when temperatures plummet below zero?

www.earthtouchnews.com

 

[P4-630]

Already done by a few animals, the wood frog being the standout ~

5 animals & 1 superbug that can freeze, thaw & live

What extreme adaptations are necessary for survival when temperatures plummet below zero?

www.earthtouchnews.com

Ah, @R-T-B 's friends...

 

[Assimilator]

The worms are from the long-extinct species Panagarolaimus kolymaensi...

Guess they aren't extinct anymore!

For this to work on higher animals or people we'd need to find a way to do something similar which is highly likely to be impossible as larger animals are collections of many orders of magnitude more cells than the roughly 1,000 of these little worms.

The problem is not the number of cells but whether the organism has evolved a mechanism to protect those cells against freezing, because it's the sharp ice crystals from frozen water that kills cells by puncturing their outer membranes. They so by essentially being able to generate a form of biological antifreeze (trehalose), called a cryprotectant, that prevents their cells from completely freezing - thus precluding crystal formation.

So far, the only organisms that've managed to evolve this protection are relatively simple ones that have relatively few discrete cell types. In more complex organisms with more cell types, it becomes far more difficult to evolve a general-purpose solution to accommodate all those types, which is likely one of the reasons it's not seen in such organisms. Additionally, when cells are cooled the water is pulled out of them, dehydrating them (which can kill them) - and the removed water causes ice crystals to form in the gaps between cells, which can push those cells too far apart, which is obviously problematic in cases where they need to be close together for the organism to function.

Basically, freezing is really really bad for living things, and gets worse the more highly differentiated its cell types are - a differentiation that generally correlates with the level of evolution.

However, there is a way to completely avoid the issues around ice crystal formation - by freezing an organism too fast for the water to change from its liquid to solid phase (and by fast, I really mean fast - we're talking a temperature change of twenty-three thousand degrees Celsius per minute). This is called vitrification, and while it does still require cryprotectants, it is far more promising in terms of application to more complex cells, and therefore organisms.

 

[R-T-B]

Ah, @R-T-B 's friends...

Did you ever doubt it?