What causes microorganisms to be rare?

Rare microbes are like hidden gems in the microcosmos, with low numbers and abundance making them as elusive as a Dodo or a Tasmanian tiger. Their ability to survive without food for long periods adds to their rarity, giving us a glimpse into a world that’s alien and intriguing. It’s a journey to uncover the secrets of the unseen world, and every rare find is a tribute to the pioneering microscopists of the past. 🌌🔬

Definition of Rare Microbes 🦠

Sure, we can Define rare and come up with some kind of threshold that distinguishes between something that’s seen often enough versus something that isn’t but it gets kind of arbitrary and subjective at some point doesn’t it and especially in the microcosmos where the organisms vastly outnumber us where what we find in a single pool of water can change from day to day what does it mean for a microb to be rare?

The Rare "Aperto Spathula" Microbe 🧫

This is a perto spathula a predatory silate that feeds on other protests in microscopic animals and of the ciliates we’re looking at today it’s one of the only ones that wasn’t last reported back in the 1930s and that’s because it’s never been reported at all it’s a new species in this genus buried in its bodies are thousands of procaryotic endos symbiance when you look at it in its resting cyst phase the aperto spathula still manages to seem somewhat in motion that’s the motion of the procaryotic endos symbiance swirling against each other it’s hypnotic moving just so slowly that it’s hard to tell if the collective movement is real or just a trick of the eye that movement might be a way to distribute nutrients around the cyst so that the procariota more evenly and under a UV light the individual bodies of those endos symbiot stand out even more they Auto florescence lighting up the image altogether it makes the apperto spathula rare and spectacular looking across all microbes meaning all microscopic procaryotes and ukar it’s estimated that around 1.5 to 28% of those organisms are rare marked by low numbers and abundance across most time periods and in most environmental conditions for James finding rare microbes feels like he’s found a Dodo or a Tasmanian tiger frolicking around in his neighborhood and it also feels like a trib to his microscopy Heroes scientists like Eugene penard and Alfred call who described and classified the microbial world in the beginning of the 20th century for James the passion in their work is still apparent even nearly a century later it’s a familiar feeling to our master of microscopes so when he finds something that was last reported by them in the 1930s it means so much to him.

Finding Rare Microbes 🧐

This species pinard andela was described For the First Time by call in 1930 but has never been reported again until James found it in a small pond full of decaying organic matter the individuals he found were always in the low oxygen sediments call also reported this related species pinarella interrupta in 1930 and it had been found once in 2009 before James was able to find four more individuals all of whom have green and symbiotic algae these species all belong to the pinard genus which call constructed and named for Eugene penard so being able to find any feels like a tribute to both scientists at once all the more special because sightings tend to be very rare who knows perhaps call would have managed to find more of these ciliates in his favorite sampling areas but call stopped publishing work in 1935 which may have been due to issues with other members of his field he briefly returned in 1943 with a publication that combined revisions of his previous work alongside new species found between 1934 and 1940 but a planned followup was lost due to World War II and call died in 1946 of Causes That Remain unknown.

The Value of Studying Rare Microbes 📚

One of the reasons it’s so valuable to continue finding these rare microbes decades later is that we have so many more techniques available to us to study and record them we know so much more about DNA and how to study it which has given us so much more insight into how these organisms function and evolve but these older microscopists were diligent with the tools they had their microscope and the ability to combine words and illustration to describe a world that seemed so alien penard described the rare legendre bapin in 1914 taking immense care with the details and illustrations so that he could capture the various forms of the organism the publication ended up being 27 pages long we can’t help but Wonder though what would it have been like for microscopists back in the day to have the same ability to record highquality footage of microbes like we do today what would they have chosen to record how would they have chosen to film it what would be the details they would want an audience to see later we don’t know what they would have wanted to see but we do know what James Wanted he wanted to know what would happened if he left legendre bapin on a sealed slide with no food he found a cell pipetted it on a slide with no food and left it in a humidity chamber and then he watched and watched and watched for 34 days the organism started out with its tentacles extended at times moving around in search of something to eat but by day 34 it was mostly static surrounded by a constellation of its own Parts its shape was slightly different perhaps because it was in need of food unfortunately the legend Drea eventually disappeared when the Vaseline seal on the slide broke we don’t know where its future took it.

Factors Contributing to Microbe Rarity 📉

There are a few traits that James and his collaborator Professor Hova estaban have noticed that seems to be consistent across the rare species they find in general these rare microbes are likely to have something that limits their growth keeping their numbers small overall there are are a few ways that can happen one is that they might be anerobic which means their metabolism is less efficient compared to aerobic metabolism and it’s also reliant on food that’s harder to come by the legendre bapin is like this it can spend ages 34 days even waiting for its very specific diet of microscopic animals like rapers and gastr Trix those animals aren’t thriving in the anoxic environments legendre prefer to live in so the silate must be willing to wait and in turn it’ll have a slower growth rate so the fact that they can survive so long without food might actually be connected to why they’re so rare at least that’s one possible explanation and in a world filled with so many organisms and so many ways to be rare there are likely many more reasons and ways for an organism to be rare we can only work at uncovering more of them.

Conclusion

Thank you for coming on this journey with us as we explore the Unseen World that surrounds us and thank you to Squarespace for sponsoring this episode Squarespace offers a robust online platform that empowers small businesses to create their own websites whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your existing Venture Squarespace provides all the essential features you need to succeed maybe you’re a talented yoga instructor and want to establish a captivating online presence for your studio Squarespace provides you with the tools to design a beautiful and professional website that reflects your Studio’s tranquil Ambiance and captures the essence of your teaching style utilizing squarespace’s thirdparty extensions you can effortlessly manage class schedules streamline bookings and offer online yoga sessions to students around the globe.

Key Takeaways

• Rare microbes exhibit limited growth due to various factors such as anerobic metabolism and reliance on specific food sources.
• Traditional microscopists diligently described the rare microbial world with the tools available to them, providing valuable insight for modern scientific study.
• Join us on our journey to uncover more rare and fascinating microscopic organisms.

FAQ

• How can rare microbes contribute to our understanding of microbiology?
• What techniques are available to study and record rare microbes in the present day?
• What are the key traits that make a microbe rare?
• How can small businesses utilize Squarespace to establish an online presence?

Thank You!