Surprising Bacterium from Canadian Lake Shines New Light on Ancient Photosynthesis
From a ‘failed’ experiment to a world-changing discovery, a University of Waterloo PhD student has turned an unexpected bacterial sample into a novel research breakthrough.
It’s not uncommon for experiments to yield unexpected results, and sometimes, these anomalies can lead to groundbreaking discoveries. Jackson Tsuji, a PhD student at the University of Waterloo, refused to give up on a poorly growing bacterial sample, which ultimately led to a once-in-a-lifetime finding that could revolutionize the scientific understanding of photosynthesis and its origins.
In 2015, Tsuji joined Professor Josh Neufeld’s lab to search for unusual photosynthetic bacteria in northern Canadian lakes. The team, including co-op student Nicolette Shaw, aimed to study Lake 227 at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area near Kenora, Ontario, based on a hypothesis that these lakes might harbor bacteria analogous to those present on early Earth. Despite encountering mixed results in their initial two years of lake sampling and cultivation, Tsuji retained one of the experiment bottles from Lake 227, intrigued by the unexpected behavior of the bacterial sample.
After observing signs of iron oxidation in the bottle at the three-month mark, despite the absence of the target bacterium, Tsuji and the team continued to monitor the culture. Eventually, DNA-based tests revealed the growth of a highly unusual bacterium, distantly related to any previously cultivated bacteria in a laboratory setting. Further research in Japan’s Photosynthetic Microbial Consortium Laboratory unveiled that this peculiar bacterium held remarkable surprises in its genome, including certain core photosynthesis genes that had not been anticipated.
The discovery has the potential to reshape scientific understanding of ancient photosynthesis and its evolutionary history. Tsuji’s perseverance in pursuing the unexpected has opened up new avenues for research, demonstrating the invaluable nature of embracing unforeseen outcomes in scientific exploration.
