VIABLE GREEN ALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA WITHIN TERRESTRIAL PERMAFROST

摘要

Viable permafrost algae have preserved their morphological characteristics and photosynthetic apparatus for the longest documented period of time on Earth. Unicellular green algae of the order Chlorococcales and filamentous cyanobacteria of the orders Oscillator tales and Nostocales were isolated from deep subsurface permafrost sediments. Both were discovered within Siberian permafrost from the Holocene up to the Early Pleistocene age. However, green algae were found to be predominant and also able to survive inside colder Antarctic sediments. These findings will have an important impact on astrobiology and the study of organisms that exist in extreme environments.