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13h ago

Lassen 'Fire Amoeba' Replicates at 63°C, Setting a New Eukaryotic Heat Limit

A bioRxiv preprint details a newly named amoeba that reproduces at 63°C, challenging long‑assumed thermal limits for complex cells.

Left, algal biofilm in the tributary of Hot Springs Creek where the “fire amoeba” was sampled. Right, Beryl Rappaport sampling from the tributary of Hot Springs Creek, collecting liquid and biofilm with long tongs.
 From left, researchers Ken Stedman, Gordon Wolfe, Angela Oliverio and Beryl Rappaport, lead author, stand in front of Boiling Springs Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park. 
Image
Getty Images / H. Beryl Rappaport et al./bioRxiv

Overview

  • The organism, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, was isolated from a tributary of Hot Springs Creek in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
  • In laboratory cultures it divided up to 63°C, remained active at about 64°C, and encysted to survive near 70°C before resuming growth when cooled.
  • Genome sequencing and proteome analysis indicate proteins with higher predicted melting temperatures than those of its nearest amoeba relative.
  • The result challenges decades of guidance that placed eukaryotes’ upper temperature bound near 62°C, previously supported only up to roughly 60°C.
  • The study is a preprint pending peer review, and researchers plan wider searches and follow‑up to test mechanisms and potential biotechnological and astrobiological uses.