Treasures of the Baltic Sea. Researchers have discovered the oldest seaweed – Wprost

The seaweed discovered by the team of scientists is 1,400 years old.

The genetic clock made it possible to determine the age of plants

As it turns out, it’s the oldest marine plant whose age has been precisely determined — writes a team led by Thorsten Reusch of the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany.

Seaweeds reproduce mainly through underground pods. Individual parts vary little genetically. A team from Kiel, London, Oldenburg, and California used this fact to develop a new type of genetic clock that can accurately determine a plant’s age.

Mutations in genetic information are key here.

The Australian seagrass carpet is at least 4,500 years old

According to mopo.de, other researchers have previously discovered huge forests of seaweed, and estimated their age – at several thousand years – based on their size.

Off the west coast of Australia, a seagrass carpet stretches 180 kilometers and is estimated to be at least 4,500 years old, a team led by Elizabeth Sinclair of the University of Western Australia reported in 2022. Specifically, it’s a plant of the seaweed species, Posidonia australis.

Read also:
The coin was found 70 years ago. Its value is mind-bogglingRead also:
A wonderful discovery at the bottom of the lake. The Celts offered it as an offering to the gods