Snottite, also snoticle, is a

microbial mat A microbial mat is a multi-layered sheet of microorganisms, mainly bacteria and archaea, or bacteria alone. Microbial mats grow at interfaces between different types of material, mostly on submerged or moist surfaces, but a few survive in desert ...

single-celled A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and ...

extremophilic An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

which hang from the walls and ceilings of

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s and are similar to small

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

s, but have the consistency of nasal mucus. In the

Frasassi Caves The Frasassi Caves ( Italian: ''Grotte di Frasassi'') are a karst cave system in the municipality of Genga, Italy, in the province of Ancona, Marche. They are among the most famous show caves in Italy. History The caves, discovered by a group ...

in Italy, over 70% of cells in Snottite have been identified as '' Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans'', with smaller populations including an archaeon in the uncultivated 'G-plasma' clade of

Thermoplasmatales In taxonomy, the Thermoplasmatales are an order of the Thermoplasmata. All are acidophiles, growing optimally at pH below 2. ''Picrophilus'' is currently the most acidophilic of all known organisms, being capable of growing at a pH of -0.06. M ...

(>15%) and a bacterium in the

Acidimicrobiaceae The ''Acidimicrobiaceae'' are a family of '' Actinomycetota''. Phylogeny The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). The phylogeny is based on whole-genome analysis. Notes ...

family (>5%). The bacteria derive their energy from

chemosynthesis In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon-containing molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydrog ...

of volcanic

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

compounds including H₂S and warm-water solution dripping down from above, producing sulfuric acid. Because of this, their waste products are highly acidic (approaching pH=0), with similar properties to

battery acid Sulfuric acid ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular fo ...

. Researchers at the University of Texas have suggested that this sulfuric acid may be a more significant cause of cave formation than the usual explanation offered of the carbonic acid formed from

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

dissolved in water. Snottites were brought to attention by researchers

Diana Northup Diana E. Northup is an American microbiologist, speleologist, ecologist, Visiting Professor of Biology, and Professor Emerita of Library Sciences with the University of New Mexico. Her research focuses on the microbial ecology of caves around the ...

and Penny Boston studying them (and other organisms) in a toxic

cave called

Cueva de Villa Luz Cueva de Villa Luz (English: Cave of the Lighted House), also known as Cueva del Azufre and Cueva de las Sardinas, is a cave near Tapijulapa in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco. The springs within the cave are rich in hydrogen sulfide, a ...

(''Cave of the Lighted House''), in

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. Snottites were first discovered in this cave by Jim Pisarowicz in 1986, who also coined the term.Michael Ray Taylor, ''Dark Life: Martian Nanobacteria, Rock-eating Cave Bugs, and Other Extreme Organisms of Inner Earth and Outer Space'', pp. 56–57, Simon and Schuster, 1999 . The BBC series '' Wonders of the Solar System'' saw Professor Brian Cox examining snottites and positing that if there is

life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

, it may be similarly primitive and hidden beneath the surface of the Red Planet.

References

Additional sources

Hose L. D., Pisarowicz J. A. (1999
"Cueva de Villa Luz, Tabasco, Mexico: reconnaissance study of an active sulfur spring cave and ecosystem"
''J Cave Karst Studies''; 61:13–21

External links

at NASA
The Subsurface Life in Mineral Environments (SLIME) Team
{{Extremophile Speleothems Sulphophiles Cave organisms

See also

References

Additional sources

External links