How Microbes Survive the Impossible!

Deep-sea microbes near Taiwan’s hydrothermal vents use a rare metabolic cycle to thrive where life seems impossible.

Imagine a place where boiling water gushes from the earth, the air is filled with acid, and the smell of rotten eggs lingers constantly. Sounds unlivable, right? Microscopic life-forms exist abundantly in the extreme depths of ocean water near the //volcanic island called “Kueishantao off Taiwan.”
Scientists from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, together with Taiwan-based researchers, discovered their survival strategy. The rTCA (reductive tricarboxylic acid) cycle provides microbes with a special mechanism to create energy and food in conditions that should kill them! (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Microorganisms employ a secret weapon during metabolism

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Microbes’ Survival Hack with the rTCA Cycle!

While most plants and algae use “the Calvin cycle” to turn carbon dioxide into energy, the microbes near Kueishantao use the rTCA (reductive tricarboxylic acid) cycle, which is a faster and more efficient method when energy is scarce.

The unique cycle functions as a direct path to transform raw carbon into available energy. These environments benefit from this system because energy conservation is vital, making survival possible!

Feeding an Entire Ecosystem: From Microbes to Crabs!

What’s fascinating is that the microbial energy generation creates new energy, which goes beyond affecting only the microbes themselves! The energy generated by these microbes travels through different levels of ocean life until it reaches large marine organisms such as crabs residing near the vents! This was proved by tracing the carbon generated by the microbial ecosystem to understand how their power passes into the chain of living organisms that connect to this hidden but potent microbial machinery!
This microbial “secret weapon” discovery transforms our understanding of Earth’s living organisms beyond regular science. Such survival capacities in these harsh and boiling conditions demonstrate new potential to explore whether other planets with comparable extreme environments could be inhabited!

Research on how life survives on Earth helps scientists identify potential locations of extraterrestrial life throughout the cosmos. Observations of Kueishantao microbes display remarkable adaptability and survival capabilities of all living organisms near the perimeter!