Presentation Points

• A team has succeeded in collecting living microorganisms from a 2-billion-year-old stratum beneath South Africa.
• This is an achievement that takes the record of the oldest strata in which living microorganisms have been found all the way back from 100 million years ago to 2 billion years ago.
• If microorganisms have not evolved inside stable rocks for 2 billion years, it is expected to provide insight into the origin and early evolution of life on Earth.

(From University of Tokyo press release)

Please refer to the University of Tokyo press release for details.

Publication

Journal：Microbial Ecology

Title：Subsurface Microbial Colonization at Mineral-Filled Veins in 2-Billion-Year-Old Mafic Rock from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

Authors：Yohey Suzuki*, Susan J. Webb, Mariko Kouduka, Hanae Kobayashi, Julio Castillo, Jens Kallmeyer, Kgabo Moganedi, Amy J. Allwright, Reiner Klemd, Frederick Roelofse, Mabatho Mapiloko, Stuart J. Hill, Lewis D. Ashwal, Robert B. Trumbul
(*Responsible author, project solicitation adopter)

DOI：10.1007/s00248-024-02434-8

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