A group of Chinese scientists have made groundbreaking discoveries of never-before-seen microbes living in the hadal zone of the Mariana Trench. 

Using the deep-sea submersible Fendouzhe, the Chinese scientists explored the depths of the Mariana Trench in 2021. During 33 dives, they collected thousands of samples of sediment, seawater and larger organisms from depths of 6,000 to 10,900 meters. 

The hadal zone is an oceanic region reaching from 6,000 to as deep as 11,000 meters. It is characterized by near-zero temperatures, a lack of light, extremely low amounts of oxygen and accumulated pressure that is thousands of times higher than at the surface 

In a publication in the journal Cell, the scientists, led by researchers from Shanghai Jiaotong University, presented the results of their analysis of the collected samples: they have identified 7564 species of microbes, almost 90 percent of which were new to science. 

Source: www.cell.com 

The new discoveries expand knowledge of marine ecosystems at depths exceeding 10,000 meters. The newly identified genes, structures and biological functions could pave the way for finding solutions to the global biological resource crisis.