Tibetan Glaciers: Find New Species of Bacteria

One of the biggest problems of recent years is undoubtedly what has been called the “climate crisis”. This is not only a problem related to the lack of water or the fact that climate change brings events such as storms, floods, landslides, but also the risk of changes in the biodiversity present in our ecosystem.

To give the news of a new “danger” that could come from Tibetan Glaciers was the journal Nature Biotechnology. Between 2016 and 2020, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences collected samples of snow and ice as part of a project on microbiodiversity. Of the 21 glaciers found on the Tibetan plateau, they discovered the presence of 968 species bacteria of which about 80% would be unknown in the medical world.

Definitely interesting was the fact that until recently it was considered that glaciers were too extreme an environment to house any kind of biodiversity. However, recent studies have disproved this, also considering that in the past year a series of viruses are said to have been identified never before seen among the ice more than 15 thousand years ago.

The researchers at this point express concern about climate change leading to a major melting of the Tibetan Plateau glaciers (blame for the rise in temperatures), suggesting the release of potentially dangerous bacteria and viruses, especially in the area where they occur. to arise. the two nations of the caliber China and India.

This is an excerpt from the research:

Modern and ancient pathogenic microbes trapped in ice can lead to local epidemics and even pandemics. These microorganisms can carry new virulence factors that make plants, animals and humans vulnerable. In addition, virulence factors can be horizontally transmitted within a microbial community via mobile genetic elements. The interaction between glaciers and modern microorganisms can be particularly dangerous and potential health risks should be assessed.