The Sage of Discovery

Fossil Fuels XPort by Steve Kocino on Flickr

In 1995 scientists Raul J. Cano and Monica K. Borucki uncovered endospores from a bacteria related to Bacillus sphaericus, a fungal bacteria, in the stomach of a bee. Endospores are dormant spores, surrounded by a thick protein wall, and created by bacteria in response to environmental stress. In this dormant, dehydrated state, Bacillus endospores can withstand heat, radiation, chemical agents, and pressure.

The cool thing was that the bee was a Proplebeia Dominicana, a form of extinct, stingless bee , and it and the bacteria were fossilized in 20 to 45 million year old amber. And, somewhat surprisingly, some bacterial endospores were more or less intact. According to Cano and Borucki,  “In the state of dessication some bacteria may remain in a cryptobiotic state for millions of years.”  To extract the Bacillus, the researchers first chemically sterilized the amber surfaces to eliminate extant bacteria. After placing the resin in liquid nitrogen, they cracked the amber shell under a sealed hood to retrieve the bee’s stomach contents.

But what they did next was really, really cool: they were able to revive the ancient spores. After bacteria was spread on petri dishes, fed, and incubated, it began to colonize. An ancient organism had been brought back to life! (or so it seems). Cano and Borucki’s findings astonished them and raised surprise and skepticism throughout the scientific community. Their results were published in Science.

But the story didn’t end there. Over the next months, Cano revived more specimens using the same method. One particular find was a bacteria related to Saccharomyces, a genus that contains brewer’s or baker’s yeast. Just for fun, Cano and Chip Lambert, Cano’s partner at the Ambergene company, used the Saccharomyces to brew up a batch of Eocene epoch beer to serve at Cano’s daughter’s wedding. The verdict? not a bad flavor, and not bad for a couple of amateurs.

It wasn’t until 2006 that they decided to take their ancient brew commercial. In 2006, Cano and Lambert teamed up with Stumpton and Kelley Brothers Brewing Companies to create Fossil Fuels Beer with their prehistoric yeast. The beverage was launched in 2008. So far, the beer is available for consumption only at these two breweries, but Fossil Fuels is slated for distribution soon.

So when can you have your own taste of pre-history? Keep up with the Fossil Fuels website to find out!

[via Wired] [for another take, check out Time Magazine] OR

Cano, R., & Borucki, M. (1995). Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber Science, 268 (5213), 1060-1064 DOI: 10.1126/science.7538699