Thermophiles in the subglacial Antarctic Lake Vostok by Oxford nanopore sequencing
1. The objective of the research was to analyze ice samples from the subglacial Antarctic Lake Vostok to look for microbial life.2. Previous Sanger sequencing had identified thermophilic bacteria in Lake Vostok, suggesting the presence of a hydrothermal system beneath the lake.3. The study used Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology to reassess previous findings and found that only one of the ice samples contained thermophiles.4. Among the classified reads, 355 (0.02%) were similar to a heterotrophic thermophilic bacterium called Meiothermus hypogaeus, previously isolated from a hot water spring in Japan.5. The discovery of this new thermophilic microorganism suggests ongoing hydrothermal activity in the Lake Vostok ecosystem and the presence of native microorganisms living in faults beneath the lake.