Scientists Discover New Protist Species Revived from 39,000-Year-Old Siberian Permafrost
Scientists Discover New Protist Species Revived from 39,000-Year-Old Siberian Permafrost
Researchers at the University of Tyumen have described a previously unknown species of predatory unicellular eukaryote that remained viable in permafrost since the Late Pleistocene. The living culture was isolated from a permafrost sediment core recovered at a depth of approximately nine meters from the second fluvial terrace of the Kheigiyakha River in the Nadym District of Western Siberia. Radiometric dating indicates that the deposits are approximately 39,000 years old.
The findings have been published in the journal European Journal of Protistology.
The findings have been published in the journal European Journal of Protistology.
Researchers at the AquaBioSafe Laboratory of the Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), University of Tyumen, have successfully isolated and studied a living microbial eukaryote under laboratory conditions. The newly identified species has been named "Acanthocystis yamallongha", a designation that may be translated as "the spirit of the edge of the earth", derived from the Nenets "Ya’mal" ("edge of the earth") and the Khanty "longh"("spirit"). The study employed an integrative approach combining advanced microscopy, molecular biology, and phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that the new species represents a distinct evolutionary lineage closely related to extant centrohelid heliozoans inhabiting terrestrial soil environments.
"I had never previously worked with samples of such age and therefore expected microbial diversity to be relatively low. Discovering active protists was therefore particularly surprising, especially the identification of a previously unknown centrohelid heliozoan species. Following repeated experiments, we confirmed that the organism indeed originated from the investigated sample. We were able not only to preserve the species in culture but also to conduct a comprehensive characterization, thereby expanding our understanding of the organisms inhabiting permafrost environments," said German Sozonov, first author of the study and a fourth-year undergraduate student at the School of Natural Sciences, who conducts research at the AquaBioSafe Laboratory of the X-BIO Institute.
Centrohelid heliozoans are widespread predatory protists—unicellular eukaryotic organisms possessing a membrane-bound nucleus—that inhabit freshwater and marine ecosystems as well as soils. They use slender radial extensions of their cell membrane for locomotion and prey capture. Their diet includes bacteria, other unicellular eukaryotes, fungi, and small multicellular organisms, placing them in a key ecological position within microbial food webs.
"Permafrost has traditionally been regarded as a unique reservoir of ancient microbial life; however, the diversity and viability of protists remain poorly understood. Until now, evidence of viable heliozoans in ancient deposits has been extremely limited and restricted to isolated findings from Holocene sediments," commented Elena Gerasimova, Senior Researcher at the AquaBioSafe Laboratory.
The researchers demonstrated that, in the context of ongoing climate change and permafrost thaw, not only bacteria and archaea but also highly organized predatory protists can remain viable over geological timescales. The reintroduction of genetically distinct predatory lineages into contemporary active ecosystems may influence the structure of modern microbial communities in soils and aquatic environments. The magnitude and ecological consequences of such effects, however, remain largely unexplored.
The study was conducted within the framework of the project "Emerging Biological Threats to Agriculture in Russia and the CIS Countries under Global Environmental Change," supported through the national competition for major scientific projects in priority areas of the Russian Federation’s scientific and technological development agenda (2024–2026). The project is led by Academician Andrey Lisitsa of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
*The AquaBioSafe Laboratory was established through a megagrant awarded by the Government of the Tyumen Region within the West Siberian Interregional Research and Education Center (REC) under the strategic priority area "Biological Safety of Humans, Animals, and Plants." The laboratory is headed by leading scientist Denis Tikhonenkov.
Source:Strategic Communications Office, University of Tyumen
"I had never previously worked with samples of such age and therefore expected microbial diversity to be relatively low. Discovering active protists was therefore particularly surprising, especially the identification of a previously unknown centrohelid heliozoan species. Following repeated experiments, we confirmed that the organism indeed originated from the investigated sample. We were able not only to preserve the species in culture but also to conduct a comprehensive characterization, thereby expanding our understanding of the organisms inhabiting permafrost environments," said German Sozonov, first author of the study and a fourth-year undergraduate student at the School of Natural Sciences, who conducts research at the AquaBioSafe Laboratory of the X-BIO Institute.
Centrohelid heliozoans are widespread predatory protists—unicellular eukaryotic organisms possessing a membrane-bound nucleus—that inhabit freshwater and marine ecosystems as well as soils. They use slender radial extensions of their cell membrane for locomotion and prey capture. Their diet includes bacteria, other unicellular eukaryotes, fungi, and small multicellular organisms, placing them in a key ecological position within microbial food webs.
"Permafrost has traditionally been regarded as a unique reservoir of ancient microbial life; however, the diversity and viability of protists remain poorly understood. Until now, evidence of viable heliozoans in ancient deposits has been extremely limited and restricted to isolated findings from Holocene sediments," commented Elena Gerasimova, Senior Researcher at the AquaBioSafe Laboratory.
The researchers demonstrated that, in the context of ongoing climate change and permafrost thaw, not only bacteria and archaea but also highly organized predatory protists can remain viable over geological timescales. The reintroduction of genetically distinct predatory lineages into contemporary active ecosystems may influence the structure of modern microbial communities in soils and aquatic environments. The magnitude and ecological consequences of such effects, however, remain largely unexplored.
The study was conducted within the framework of the project "Emerging Biological Threats to Agriculture in Russia and the CIS Countries under Global Environmental Change," supported through the national competition for major scientific projects in priority areas of the Russian Federation’s scientific and technological development agenda (2024–2026). The project is led by Academician Andrey Lisitsa of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
*The AquaBioSafe Laboratory was established through a megagrant awarded by the Government of the Tyumen Region within the West Siberian Interregional Research and Education Center (REC) under the strategic priority area "Biological Safety of Humans, Animals, and Plants." The laboratory is headed by leading scientist Denis Tikhonenkov.
Source:Strategic Communications Office, University of Tyumen