‘Zombie’ virus trapped in Siberian permafrost for 50,000 years is back
Researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research have revived more than a dozen prehistoric viruses previously trapped deep in Siberian permafrost, a pre-print study reveals.
From seven ancient permafrost samples, scientists were able to record 13 previously unseen viruses that have been dormant in ice for tens of thousands of years.
In 2014, the same researchers found a 30,000-year-old virus trapped in permafrost, reports the BBC. This discovery was groundbreaking. Because the virus was still able to infect living things after that. But now they’ve broken their own record by reviving his 48,500-year-old virus.
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According to Science Alert, the ancient virus has been given the name Pandoravirus Yedma.
Scientists are unzipping these ancient viruses to study their impact on public health. When the northern hemisphere’s permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, melts, it releases large amounts of chemicals and microbes trapped in the melted ice.
“The irreversible thawing of permafrost due to warming climate will release organic matter that has been frozen for up to a million years, most of which breaks down into carbon dioxide and methane, further increasing the greenhouse effect,” the study’s authors wrote. “Part of this organism is also composed of revived cellular microorganisms (prokaryotes, unicellular eukaryotes) and viruses dormant since prehistoric times.”
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Some of these “zombie viruses” can be potentially dangerous to humans, the authors warn. In fact, thawing permafrost is already killing people.
In 2016, one child died and dozens were hospitalized after an anthrax outbreak in Siberia. Officials believe the outbreak started decades ago when a heat wave thawed the permafrost and found dead reindeer infected with anthrax. About 2,300 reindeer died in the outbreak.
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The resurrected viruses discovered by researchers belong to the following subtypes of viruses: Pandoravirus, Cedratvirus, Megavirus, Pacmanvirus and Pisovirus. These viruses are considered “giant” because they are large and easily spotted with a light microscope.
For this reason, researchers believe there are many other small viruses that have escaped scrutiny.
Scientists have also used amoeba cells as “viral baits” to see which viruses are still active and able to infect organisms. The researchers said this limited their results to detecting only “lytic viruses” that destroy their hosts, as opposed to other types of viruses that can fuse with the host’s DNA.
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On a brighter note, the study’s authors say the risk of these amoeba-infecting viruses posing a dangerous impact on humans is “very small.” But that’s not to say all ancient viruses are harmless.
The authors say that “risky” searches for viruses found in “permafrost-preserved mammoths, shaggy rhinos, or prehistoric horse fossils” are a whole other story.
It is unknown whether these ancient viruses can infect hosts exposed to outdoor conditions such as heat, oxygen and UV light. But researchers say such a situation is becoming more likely as more permafrost thaws and more people begin to occupy the thawed Arctic for commercial and industrial ventures. increase.
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‘Zombie’ virus trapped in Siberian permafrost for 50,000 years is back
Source link ‘Zombie’ virus trapped in Siberian permafrost for 50,000 years is back
