A Danish study based on samples from a storm that struck in May 2009 reveals that rain, lightning and thunder-laden clouds are also teeming with bacteria and chemicals , specifically up to 3,000 different compounds commonly found in the ground.
Of the microbes discovered in the hailstones analyzed by the scientists, there are three types that could be considered "typical" microscopic inhabitants of a storm cloud: Proteobacteria , Sphingobacteriales and Methylobacterium . And they coincide with types of bacteria that usually live associated with the surface of plants, according to the researchers published in the journal PLOS ONE .
The authors argue that the abundance of certain microbes in hail from storm rains reveals which microbes best survive the processes involved in the life cycle of a cloud . And that this could affect the distribution of microorganisms throughout the planet. In other words, bacteria are not only born, reproduced and selected at ground level, but also in the atmosphere. "Storm clouds are the most extreme habitats on Earth where we have found life" , conclude the authors of the work.
