Hot Spring Amoeba Breaks Record for Heat Tolerance of Complex Life
The amoeba can divide at 63 C and recover after brief exposure to 70 C, researchers said, setting a new heat-tolerance record for complex life.
- On Tuesday, researchers published findings in Cell identifying Incendiamoeba, a heat-tolerant amoeba discovered in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park that thrives at 63° Celsius , setting a new heat-tolerance record for eukaryotes.
- Syracuse University researchers, led by Beryl Rappaport and Angela Oliverio, identified the organism in a tributary of Hot Spring Creek, surpassing the previous eukaryote heat record of 60° Celsius held by algae and fungi.
- The amoeba performs mitosis at 63° Celsius and survives up to 70° Celsius by entering dormancy, utilizing specialized gene activity and structural flexibility to protect itself against extreme heat.
- "These temperatures surpass what was previously thought possible for any eukaryote and reopens questions about the limits of complex life," Rappaport said, challenging fundamental biological constraints on how cells evolve.
- Oliverio suggested the findings expand the search for life on Earth and elsewhere in the universe, as researchers continue characterizing microbial lineages thriving in environments once deemed fatal to complex life.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Scientists have identified a species of amoeba that can survive record-breaking temperatures. The researchers explained how the organism adapted to the extremely unfavorable conditions and what their discovery means for the search for life—and not just on Earth.
NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat - NASA Science
NASA-supported scientists have discovered an organism that lives at extreme temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. High temperatures can cause the destruction of necessary cell components, which is a big problem for cells with complex parts like a nucleus encasing delicate genetic information. In the heated waters of California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, a […]
The new species discovered in thermal waters is a microscopic organism called Incendiamoeba cascadensis. Scientists have proven that it feeds and reproduces at more than 63 degrees, and survives to environments of more than 70 degrees. Until now it was thought that this type of organism could not perform its functions at more than 60 degrees. Read
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