Posted 9/3/2023 11:25 AM / Updated 9/3/2023 11:32 AM
(Credit: Disclosure/Jean-Michel Claverie/IGS/CNRS-AMU)
A team of researchers has reactivated several ancient virus strains isolated from permafrost, the frozen subsurface layer found in Siberia. To be on the safe side, scientists study viruses that are only capable of infecting single-celled amoebas. The oldest microorganisms have remained frozen for 48,500 years – under these conditions, these pathogens are known as “zombie” viruses.
When they are frozen, the viruses are inactive. In 2014 and 2015, scientists were able to isolate and activate additional viruses. “A critical feature of our approach was choice Acanthamoeba spp. as a host, to act as a specific bait for infectious viruses, thus eliminating any risk to crops, animals or humans,” explain the authors of the study published in magazine viruses.
Seven of the 13 new viruses isolated are from the family pandoraviride. The scientists noted that “eight to ten hours after infection, Acanthamoeba cells become round, lose adhesion, and new molecules appear in the cytoplasm.” Three other microorganisms belong to the new subfamily Sideratvirus. Other isolated classifications were: Mimiviridae, Megavirinae, and Asfarviridae.
“The types of viruses that were revived in our study are, in fact, the result of stronger biases. First, the only viruses we can hope to detect are those infecting Acanthamoeba species. Second, how we rely on ‘sick’ amoebas indicating which cultures can reproduce For viruses, we were strictly limited to detecting lytic viruses. Third, we preferred to identify ‘giant’ viruses, given the important role ascribed to light microscopy in the early detection of positive viral cultures,” says the research.
Beyond the point of biological safety, the amoeba was chosen for the study because it is an organism that is “ubiquitous” in natural environments. Therefore, “detecting their viruses can provide a useful test for the presence of any other live virus in a given environment.”
In an interview with CNNJean-Michel Claverie, one of the lead authors of the research, said that global warming generates the risk of melting permafrost, and thus the spread of microorganisms that may be alive and have an infectious capacity unknown to science. Therefore, identifying viruses is the first step towards understanding the risks they can pose.
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