Darwin’s Laws of Evolution that state the fact that evolution is an infinite process have been proved yet again. 2.8kms under the surface of the Earth, in an aerobic environment, at an unusually high temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a lonely bacteria Desulforudis audaxviator was discovered in 2006 in a gold mine in South Africa. This discovery was made under the project run by Virtual Institute for Microbial Stress and Survival (VIMSS) along with many other renowned institutions and laboratories like Princeton, Berkley Lab, MIT, etc.

Aptly called the ‘Bold Traveler’, these bacteria have adapted themselves to gain energy from hydrogen and sulfate emitted after the radio-active dissociation of uranium. This first single species ecosystem ever discovered shares its genome with another atypical group, archaea. Desulforudis builds up its organic molecules by itself using water, nitrogen and inorganic carbon from the adjacent rocks. Surviving in darkness, these cave-dwelling bacilli haven’t seen the sun or taken oxygen since millions of years.

Existing in an inhabitable environment, D. audaxviator proves Darwin’s theory of Survival of the Fittest and inspires us with its adaptable genetic pattern that has molded itself to subsist in the weirdest of all ecosystems.

Source: EcoWorldly