In my mind, the most terrifying potential world apocalypse scenario is way too close to home (if you live in America) – right in Yellowstone National Park.

Maybe the reason no disaster movie has ever been made about it is that considering that reality is just a little too scary.

It’s no surprise to learn that weird and wild stuff is showing up in the ground in the area, if you ask me.

Researchers have known for some time that groups of microbes exist in the waters in Yellowstone that have unique DNA. This is the first time, however, that the organisms have been seen and described firsthand, however.

Methane gas, which is an important contributor to rising temperatures, is produced by single-cell Euryachaeota organisms. Until recently, these organisms were thought to require a mammalian host to thrive, and were believed to be the only life forms that produce methane as part of their normal life cycle.

Around 10 years ago the genes coded for the production of the enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) were also detected in hot springs.

Dr. Roland Hatzenpichler issued a statement on the impact of that finding.

“All we knew about these organisms was their DNA. No one had ever seen a cell of these supposed methanogens; no one knew if they actually used their methanogenesis genes or it they were growing by some other means.”

The location they were detected were very hot environments, which meant they were unlikely to affect the balance of Earth’s methane to a significant degree.

Still, Hatzenpichler and his colleagues thought finding something with unique DNA would be interesting.

So, they took samples from hot springs in Yellowstone with temperatures that ranged from 141°F-161°F and were thrilled to succeed in growing them in a lab environment.

They found that Methanomethylicia and Methanodesulfokora both produce methane, and are the first methanogens known outside of the Euryachaeota – a huge find.

Not only that, they found that Methanomethylicia thrives in environments that are not so extreme, and are present in places like your everyday wastewater treatment plant.

Still, they posit that it only releases the methane gas in those hot environments.

“My best bet is that they sometimes grow by making methane, and sometimes they do something else entirely, but we don’t know when they grow, or how, or why. We now need to find out when they contribute to methane cycling and when not.”

Instead of producing methane by making it out of CO2 or acetate the way Euryarchaeota does, they believe these two new discoveries produce it by making it out of methanol and similar molecules.

The origins of these discoveries is still unknown but they could be old enough to offer insight into the first life forms on Earth.

If they can do that, they might also contribute to learning about life on other planets as well.

That’s just one of many questions Hatzenpichler and his team hope to answer.

“We have no idea why they are forming them. Structures like these have rarely been seen in microbes. Maybe they exchange DNA; maybe they exchange chemicals. We don’t know yet.”

That’s exactly where scientists do their best work.

In the unknown.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?