Beneath Michigan, ancient rock and water teem with fungi, 'water bears,' and tiny worms

Key Points:

• Researchers from the University of Michigan discovered abundant fungal life, including 689 species and tiny animals like tardigrades and worms, in ancient water sampled from 650 to 1,640 feet underground beneath Michigan's Antrim Shale.
• The study challenges previous assumptions that the deep subsurface is inhospitable to complex life, revealing a functioning ecosystem that may be widespread in deep rock formations.
• Isotope evidence indicates the water dates back about 11,000 years, and fungi and bacteria may be metabolizing ancient organic carbon, suggesting underground carbon stores are more biologically active than previously thought.
• The team has created the first public collection of deep subsurface fungi to aid future research on underground ecosystems and carbon cycling, emphasizing the need to include fungi in models of Earth's carbon dynamics.
• This discovery highlights significant unknowns about Earth's biodiversity and carbon processes in deep subsurface environments, with implications for understanding life on Earth and its carbon cycle.