This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scientists have developed a robotic system that can recreate the extreme conditions of the deep ocean in the laboratory, opening up access to some microorganisms for the first time. The deep sea is the largest microbial habitat on Earth and is home to a huge diversity of microorganisms.
Many have evolved to survive extreme conditions, including intense pressure and near-freezing temperatures, developing unusual enzymes and other molecules that could have useful properties, with potential applications ranging from pharmaceuticals and new materials to food and energy. But researchers estimate that less than 1% of its microorganisms can currently be cultivated using conventional methods. Due to the extreme conditions they are used to, when samples are brought to the surface, rapid changes in pressure and temperature can kill the microbes before scientists have the opportunity to study them.
Now, researchers have developed a system called DISCUSS, which recreates and maintains the conditions experienced by microbes in their natural environment throughout the whole journey from collecting samples on the ocean floor to growing and isolating individual microorganisms in the laboratory. The platform is explained in the journal Nature Sensors. Zhengguang Liu, a researcher at The University of Manchester, said, "Scientists have long struggled to grow many microorganisms found in nature under laboratory conditions, limiting our understanding of how they live and function.
DISCUSS helps address this challenge by recreating and preserving the environments these microbes depend on. "By bringing together environmental sensing, digital modeling and robotics, we can study microbial life that has previously been difficult to access, while opening up new possibilities for exploring other extreme environments. We hope this work demonstrates how intelligent engineering systems can help overcome longstanding scientific challenges and enable new discoveries.
"Deep-sea microbes are particularly fascinating because they have evolved to survive extreme pressure, cold and unusual chemical conditions. Their adaptations may offer valuable insights and potential applications in areas such as energy, advanced materials and biotechnology. "From an engineering perspective, what excites me most is how intelligent sensing, modeling and automation can help us explore biological systems that were previously difficult to study.
I believe this kind of interdisciplinary approach could open up new opportunities, both for understanding life in extreme environments and for addressing broader scientific and technological challenges." Researchers tested the system using samples collected from a cold seep 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) beneath the sea. The technology combines real-time environmental sensors, advanced robotics and a 'digital twin'—or a virtual representation of the deep-sea environment—to continually monitor conditions such as pressure, temperature and chemical composition and make adjustments when necessary. Once the microbes began to grow, cameras and deep-learning technology were used to recognize individual microbial colonies, while robotic tools could select and collect them for further study without removing them from the high-pressure environment.
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