Scientists have discovered several very rare species of microorganisms, some of which have never been seen before and others which have escaped the curious eyes of scientists for over a hundred years.
Microorganisms are made up of only one cell and are at the bottom of the food chain. They live all around us and can be found in any habitat, from small puddles to vast oceans; there is still a great deal to discover about them.
“Biodiversity at a microscopic level is not as widely understood as other areas of nature, despite the fact that whole ecosystems depend on it,” explained Professor Esteban.
“Some of these species are completely new and others have not been seen for over a century. We documented many curious behaviours on them and carried out DNA analysis of them for the first time.
“This means we can understand more about their relationships with other microbes and find new branches for them on the tree of life,” Professor Esteban continued.
“Most organisms on the tree of life are microscopic. In fact, most life on Earth has always been microscopic. Microorganisms were the first predators on Earth, their greedy appetites were one of the leading factors of the evolution of more complex life in the early ages of Earth,” Weiss explained.
“As prey developed better defences, predators needed to develop better ways of catching them. After the evolution of multicellular, complex life they became the main food source for others such as krill and plankton, which in turn are food for larger species. If the organisms at the very bottom were removed, all other parts of the food chain above them would collapse too,” he added.
“As with all forms of wildlife spotting, the more you look, the more you find. By taking so many samples, almost every day, we knew we could find something new. The more we know about the microscopic world, the more we can learn about the rest of their habitats where all other forms of life survive.”
Complete article at Phys.org.
The just-so evolutionary bedtime story rattled off in this article is presented without scientific evidence, and one could say, in spite of the evidence. The complex, information-rich biochemistry of complex life cannot arise just because a microbe has a “greedy appetite.”