Scientists Shocked to Find Microbes ‘Colonizing’ Lava Within Hours of Solidification

Bacteria have a penchant for living almost everywhere on Earth and in extreme conditions. This includes a desolate, almost barren area after a volcanic eruption.

In a recent paper in Communications Biology, a team of ecologists and planetary scientists report the amazing ability of bacteria to repopulate the environment immediately after a volcanic eruption. So yes – we are actually talking about microorganisms that are able to settle in fresh, cool mud. Importantly, this study represents the first time that scientists have documented bacteria entering an entirely new environment that continues to evolve; lava, as it comes out of the Earth, removes everything that was there before.

Such unique capabilities have powerful implications for studying how biological communities evolve, not just on Earth but beyond, according to the researchers in a statement.

A fiery movement

Previous investigations into the persistence of viruses have mostly focused on viruses that already exist or have successfully invaded a particular habitat, according to the paper. On the other hand, primary succession, or “the transition from uninhabited to inhabited land, is rarely documented in nature,” it added.

The researchers wondered if the occurrence of a volcano could create less unexpected conditions on Earth and headed to Iceland to monitor the volcano Fagradalsfjall.

“The mud that comes out of the ground is over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s obviously empty,” Nathan Hadland, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, said in a statement. “It’s a clean slate that provides a natural laboratory to understand how bacteria colonize.”

Between 2021 and 2023—the period of the study—the volcano erupted three times, releasing massive explosions of gas, dust, and lava that flooded nearby tundra. Needless to say, lava rocks contain little or no water or organic matter, which means that, even if bacteria somehow survived the heat of the lava, they would have nothing to sustain themselves. But the researchers’ investigation revealed that it doesn’t really matter.

“Bad” colons.

For their analysis, the researchers collected lava flows as soon as they were cool enough to collect, in addition to rainwater, aerosols, and rocks from the surrounding areas. Then, they extract DNA from these samples to check if and where the bacteria are present. Finally, they monitor the growth of this new virus. “Many metrics revealed that the lava flows analyzed in this study captured microorganisms quickly within hours and days of solidification,” the researchers noted in the study.

“The fact that we were able to do this three times—following each explosion in the same place—is what sets our project apart,” Hadland said.

Indeed, researchers were able to confirm the first wave of “badass” microbes that survived the initial conditions during the hours and days of the volcanic eruption. These insects probably arrived with rainwater, according to the paper.

As conditions worsen over time, more bacteria “enter” the new community from heavy rainfall and nearby areas, the newspaper explains. The microbial community declined somewhat over the winter but remained stable over three separate outbreaks.

“We didn’t expect that,” said Solange Duhamel, study author and biologist at the University of Arizona. “These lava flows are among the lowest biomass sites on Earth … But our samples revealed that single-celled organisms are colonizing very quickly.”

Will Martians be microbial?

For the researchers, the obvious implication of the new study is that similar biological processes may be at work on Mars. Although it appears that the volcanoes on this neighboring planet are gone, scientists now know that it is impossible for small organisms to make a home inside the newly solidified lava.

Additionally, volcanic activity injects heat into the planetary system and releases volatile gases, “so the idea is that past volcanic eruptions could have created transient habitable periods,” Duhamel added.

That said, all this stuff about Mars is a lot of speculation, the researchers admit. But it is certainly an impressive demonstration that life on a small scale will survive in the best ways.