The newly identified virus infects bacteria that live in the deepest, darkest regions of the ocean – almost 9 kilometers deep.
There is a surprising amount of life in the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on the planet. Regardless of whether viruses are considered “life” or not, little is known about the viruses that inhabit them. In a new study, researchers have identified a previously unknown bacteriophage that lives in the Mariana Trench, expanding our knowledge of the diversity of viruses in the depths of our waters.
The newly discovered virus is a bacteriophage (often shortened to “phage”), a type of virus that infects and multiplies inside bacteria. This means that humans cannot serve as hosts. Scientists believe that they are the most common organisms on our planet and that wherever we find bacteria, there is a high probability that phages will also be found.
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An international team of researchers found the phages in the Mariana Trench sediment that emerged from a depth of 8,900 meters. “To our knowledge, this is the deepest known isolated phage in the global ocean,” said Min Wang, a member of the research group, in a statement.
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vB_HmeY_H4907
In a recently published study, international scientists named the new bacteriophage vB_HmeY_H4907. It is believed to belong to a new family of siphoviruses that have double-stranded DNA. It infects Halomonas bacteria, which are commonly found on the seafloor and in hydrothermal vents and are believed to play an important role in these environments. Because phages and host bacteria often evolve together, the researchers conducted a genomic analysis of the new phage’s DNA. The results suggest that the phage is widespread in the ocean, but is also evolutionarily distant from the reference viruses used.
Significantly, it has also been found to be lysogenic – it incorporates its own genome into the host’s genome, meaning that as the bacterial cell replicates and divides, the virus’s genetic material is also copied and passed on to new cells. This exchange of DNA could provide clues as to how both organisms were able to survive in such harsh underwater environments, suggesting coevolution.
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Red browsing account Time 09/23/2023, 9:32 pm | Act: September 23, 2023, 9:32 pm