Zombie Worms Drill Whale Bones with Acid

The so-called zombie worms - Yes, they exist - just eat whale to eat dinner. These creatures also use bones as evacuation centers. Zombie worms spreading in the oceans around the world are very good to show whale and other large marine animal bones like Swiss cheese.

However, these worms do not have mouse parts for chewing holes. So how do they do it? Studies published on the online edition of the Royal Society of the Royal Society on 1 May found that they are "osteolytic" worms, not "bone drill" worms.

Martin Tresguerres, a marine physiologist at the Scripps Oceanographic Institute in La Jolla, California, said the acid is produced by a proton pump rich in protein structure.

Tresguerres studied these acid secretion structures in sharks and many other animals, including various fish species. However, he has never seen such a thing before. He told OurAmazingPlanet that the number of proton pump they have had exceeded the leaderboard.

The cellular machinery for generating acid is almost the same as that used in osteoclasts, human cells that can destroy bone and hence reconstitute. Tresguerres stated that the insight as to how worm melts bone may be suitable for osteoclasts. He added that the human kidney also contains a similar proton pump related to excretory treatment.

Even more strangely, Tresguerres stated that the worm lacked the digestive system. Studies have shown that acids produced by worms can release collagen and other proteins in whale bones, but the way they are broken down and absorbed by worms is unknown. Tresguerres and co-authors Sigrid Katz and Greg Rouse believe symbiotic bacteria are useful for animal food digestion

Rouse and colleagues first discovered these worms in an underwater valley called Monterey Submarine Valley on the California coast in 2002.

These zombie worms are of various kinds and belong to the genus Osedax. The relatives of these insects also rely on various bacteria to live in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, without viscera and oral cavity, and to survive them under hot and acidic conditions.

Please send an e-mail to Douglas Main or follow him to @ Douglas_Main. Follow @ OAPlanet, Facebook, or Google+. Original article on OurAmazingPlanet of LiveSmazence

Five zombie worms (Osedax sp.) Were named because of the tendency of animal bone to break down at the seabed. Most of them were observed to eat whale bones, but they did not distinguish whether other debris is available. Because the zombie worm's skin produces acids that melt the bones, they can reach the fat and protein embedded in the bone. Without mouth and stomach, worms depend on various root systems. They implanted the roots in the bones, and the symbiotic bacteria rooted in the roots helped them digest the food. Scientists do not yet know how nutrients actually enter zombie worms.

According to researchers at the Scripps Oceanographic Institute at the University of California at San Diego, this creature is often called a "zombie worm", releasing a strong acid and biting internal nutrients through whale bone. The findings were published on Journal of the Royal Society B on May 1st.

Zombie worms do not crave brains: instead they want bones. Osedax worms of 1 to 3 inches (2 to 7 cm) were originally found in gray whale bones rotten in the deep sea floor in 2002 and their depth was about 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Since then, more Osedax species have been discovered: according to the World Ocean Species registration, there are five species. The zombie worm digests fat in the bones, not directly eating mineral bones. But their "eating" style is completely different from ours because they do not have mouth or stomach! They secrete acid from the skin, dissolve the bone, and release the trapped fat and protein inside. After that, symbiotic bacteria living in insects digest fat and protein. It is not clear how Osedax gets nutrients from bacteria: they may only digest bacteria, or nutrients are transferred to the worm in some way.