According to a news release from the University of New South Wales, Antarctica’s Deep Lake contains “promiscuous” microbes.

Scientists have pieced together the genetic puzzle behind the ability of extremophile microbes to live in water temperatures as cold as minus 20 degrees in Antarctica’s Deep Lake.

Deep Lake, approximately five kilometers from Davis Station, was created approximately 3,500 years ago, when the Antarctic continent emerged, cutting off a section of ocean. Amazingly, the water in Deep Lake is so salty that it stays in liquid form down to a temperature of minus 20 degrees.

“The lake has the distinction of being the least productive lake ever recorded, with very little able to grow in it,” noted team leader Rick Cavicchioli, of the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences.

The team gathered water samples from Deep Lake at depths of five, 13, 24 and 36 meters, and examined the genome of the microbes residing there, to determine how they had developed to deal with the very rough environment.

The microbes belong to a group of microbes – haloarchaea – that are believed to be “promiscuous,” swapping DNA between themselves.

“But our research shows these ones swap much more genetic material with each other than has been observed in the natural environment before. Long stretches of virtually identical DNA are exchanged between different genera, not just species,” said Cavicchioli.

“Despite this rampant gene swapping, the different species are maintained and can co-exist because they have evolved to exploit different niches and consume different food sources.”

For instance, some eat proteins in the water, others eat sugars from algae residing on Deep Lake’s surface. It is believed the haloarchaea develop very gradually in the lake, with only about six generations created annually.

According to the scientists, research on extremophile microbes could have industrial applications.

“Enzymes from cold-adapted microbes could have significant value,” added Cavicchioli.

“Their high activity in cold temperatures could provide reduced energy costs for processes that would otherwise require heating, such as cleaning, or which must be carried out at cold temperatures, such as food production or bioremediation of cold, contaminated sites.”

This research demonstrates how important it is to protect Antarctica so scientists can learn from rare Antarctic lakes like Deep lake well into the future.

The study’s findings are described in greater detail in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.