Amoeba raises observed eukaryote reproduction limit to 63°C

Sep 23, 2:12 PM UTC

Cell division documented at 63°C

A study published September 22 reports that Incendiamoeba cascadensis, an amoeba isolated from a California hot spring, divided at 63°C. That is three degrees above the previously reported reproductive limit for eukaryotes, whose cells contain nuclei. The distinction is between reproduction and survival: researchers observed movement at 64°C and recovery after five minutes at 70°C, but neither result shows reproduction at those temperatures. The finding raises the observed limit; it does not establish a final limit for eukaryotic life.

NASA Science: NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat · Meet the ‘fire amoeba,’ a record-breaking survivor of extreme heat