During routine maintenance on the R/V Blue Heron, a large research vessel operating in the Great Lakes, a black goo was discovered hidden in the ship’s rudder shaft. Analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota Duluth revealed that the substance contained previously unidentified microbial species. The rudder shaft had provided a semi-warm, stable and oxygen-free environment for this rare form of single-celled anaerobic archaea to thrive. The researchers theorize that these oxygen-averse organisms may have remained dormant within the rudder’s lubricating oil, awaiting favorable conditions for reproduction.

From the goo, the research team successfully reconstructed 20 genomes. When compared against databases of known organisms, one species appeared to represent an entirely new order of archaea, while another may constitute a new bacterial phylum. Some of the organisms appear to produce methane—a potential resource for biofuel development.