paleonet Can I believe this?

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Folks,

This came across my desk from a list. It is obviously published in a mainline geological journal. The skeptic in me says this sounds like the Russians that tried to grow Cardiocarpus (Chordates) seeds from the Pennsylvanian.

But seriously for this to occur, it seems to me that dry spore would have to have ceased metabolism entirely until it was hydrated and I am not sure I understand how that would work.

But ...I just did a little web searching and found Greenblat et al. 1999 article on culturing bacteria from amber (25million +years). I also learned that bacterial spores apparently can remain viable much longer than fern moss or fungi spores. I still would like to understand the mechanism how this occurs - but I have almost answered my own question. If you have viable amber spores after millions of years [I gather there is still some dispute but it seems like good work], Permian spores sound more believable.

bcc to a colleague

New evidence for 250 Ma age of halotolerant bacterium from a Permian salt crystal
Cindy L. Satterfield, Tim K. Lowenstein, Russell H. Vreeland, William D. Rosenzweig, and Dennis W. Powers
Geology: Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 265*268. 2005.

The purported oldest living organism, the spore-forming bacterium Virgibacillus sp. Permian strain 2*9-3, was recently cultured from a brine inclusion in halite of the 250 Ma Permian Salado Formation. However, the antiquity of Virgibacillus sp. 2*9-3 has been challenged; it has been argued that the halite crystal and the fluid inclusion from which the bacterial spores were extracted may be younger than the Permian Salado salts. Here we report that brine inclusions from the same layer of salt that housed Virgibacillus sp. 2*9-3 are composed of evaporated Late Permian seawater that was trapped in halite cement crystals precipitated syndepositionally from shallow groundwater brines at temperatures of 17* 37 °C. These results support the 250 Ma age of the fluid inclusions, and by inference, the long-term survivability of microorganisms such as Virgibacillus sp. 2*9-3.

James Mahaffy (mahaffy@dordt.edu) Phone: 712 722-6279
498 4th Ave NE
Biology Department FAX : 712 722-6336
Dordt College, Sioux Center IA 51250-1697