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MOSCOW, July 28 Scientists have been able to revive a nematode worm that has lain for about 46,000 years in Siberian permafrost, according to a study published on the PLOS Genetics website.
«Preliminary analysis shows that these nematodes belong to the Panagrolaimus and Plectus species. We present accurate radiocarbon dating indicating that individuals of the Panagrolaimus species have been in cryptobiosis since the late Pleistocene period (about 46 thousand years ago)», the authors noted.< br />
We explored and extracted a sample in the north-east of Siberia in the Kolyma region. The worm rested in permafrost at a depth of 40 meters.
As the scientists told Sky News, they managed to revive it with water. The worm lived less than a month, but managed to produce more than 100 new generations.
«This little worm could be in line for a Guinness World Record for staying in suspended animation for much longer than anyone thought possible,» — the TV channel quotes the head of the study, Teimuraz Kurtschalia.
According to scientists, their discovery is important for understanding the evolutionary process, since the survival of individual individuals for a long time can contribute to the revival of extinct species.