In a world first, Australian scientists have successfully grown an unusual square-shaped bacterium found in salt lakes that has mystified scientists for a quarter of a century.
The research by PhD student Mr David Burns, Dr Mike Dyall-Smith and others at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology opens the door to a huge field of exploration of major ecological significance to Australia, greatly expanding the known microscopic biodiversity of salt lakes.
The research team recently published a report (FEMS Microbiology Letters) on the first successful cultivation of ‘Walsby’s square bacteria’ (named after the British microbiologist who discovered them), something that scientists had failed to achieve since they were first discovered in 1980.
The bacteria are the most numerous type of cell found in salt lakes and are believed to be responsible for their characteristic red colour (for example, ‘Pink Lakes’ in the Murray-Sunset National Park, Victoria). Unusually, they are perfectly square in shape, appearing like small tiles when viewed under the microscope.
Dr Dyall-Smith says “they form such a large proportion of micro-organisms in salt lakes, their metabolic activities must be of major ecological significance as they do most of the conversion of organic nutrients to other compounds, including greenhouse gases.”
In order to study them properly it was necessary to grow them in the lab, but since their discovery 25 years ago, nobody had been able to achieve this.