‘Thiolava veneris’ bacterium, found in a submarine volcano in the Canary Island of El Hierro, among the top 10 new species of 2018

Thiolava veneris bacterium, found in the submarine volcano Tagoro, in the Canary Island of El Hierro, is one of the most distinguished ten species in the world according to the new list published in May 23, 2018 by the College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) of the State University of New York (United States). The findings of these new species –published in the journal Nature, Ecology & Evolution in April 2017- were led by the teams of Professor Miquel Canals, head of the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University of Barcelona, and Roberto Danovaro, from Marche Polytechnic University (Italy).

ESF has published each year –since 2008- a list with the most outstanding ten new species in the world ( ESF Lists Top 10 New Species) which is carried out by the International Institute for Species of Exploration of ESF (IISE). This list is published on May 23 to commemorate the birthday of Carlos Linnaeus –known as Carl von Linneo- the Swedish botanist who set the bases of the scientific nomenclature for living beings in the 18th century.

This year, the world top 10 includes new species of amphipod crustaceans, beetles, orangutans, plants and fish, among other organisms found in China, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Australia and the Antarctic Ocean. According to Quentin Wheeler, director and founder of IISE, “I am shocked to see the many new species that appear and the variety of things that are found”.

Thiolava veneris: found after a volcanic eruption

T. veneris is the first found bacterial species related to the activity in Tagoro, a volcano that appeared out of a submarine eruption in El Hierro, which took place between October 2011 and March 2012. When it was found, the bacterial community formed a microbial white filament –bacterial trichrome of Venus’ hair- which covered about 2,000 square meters near the volcano cone, at depths of about 129 to 132 meters, according to the images of an underwater remote operated vehicle (ROV). Other experts in this research were Galderic Lastras, David Amblàs, Anna Sánchez Vidal, Jaime Frigola, Antoni M. Calafat, Rut Pedrosa and Xavier Rato, from the CRG on Marine Geosciences of the UB, and Jesús Rivera, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), among others.

Living in extreme scenarios under the sea

The submarine eruption in El Hierro altered the submarine relief. Taking place at a depth of about 363 meters, the eruption set a new volcano cone and a deposit cone that reached more than 1,000 meters deep. This new geological episode, which lingered up to 138 days, altered radically the conditions of the ecosystem at a local scale (temperature, oxygen, acidity, turbidity, nutrients, etc.).

According to Miquel Canals, head of the research group on Marine Geosciences and director of the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics of the UB, “most part of the volcanic activity in our planet takes place under the sea”. “So far –adds Canals- most of bacterial communities that are related to underwater volcanic activity had been studied in hydrothermal sources in the mid-oceanic ridges. These are extremophile organisms, which are metabolically adapted to survive conditions which can be highly restricting to other living beings”.

What is the origin of the found bacteria in Tagoro?

T. veneris does not only represent a new species but also a new type of extremophile bacteria that was unknown among the scientific community. Without photosynthetic capacity, the new species shows a notable metabolic plasticity to get nutrients and energy despite living in shallow volcanic floors, at least in Tagoro. The new bacteria is phylogenetically close to other marine bacteria –in particular, to Thioploca genus, within the gammaproteobacteria class- which have a high metabolic plasticity to adapt to extreme environments in ocean floors.

“However, T. veneris species – highlights Canals- is far from other areas with volcanic activity (such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge), and therefore it brings many doubts about its origins”.

Tagoro: a unique chance for scientific research

The species in this underwater volcano represents the initial stage of the restoration process of biological communities in underwater habitats that have been destroyed by natural disasters, such as the case of the Tagoro eruption in the seabeds of the Canary Islands. “To scientists, the volcanic episode of Tagoro is an excellent natural laboratory to study the development and environmental impact of relatively modest submarine eruptions. From a biological perspective, the biological recolonization process represents an extraordinary study opportunity in science”, notes Canals.

Regarding the team in the CRG on Marine Geosciences of the UB, the members of the group had published the real-time monitoring results –with acoustic means- of the Tagoro eruption, a work line that revealed unpublished aspects on the origins and evolution of the volcanic islands.