Researchers have found that some creatures cannot only consume viruses but also thrive on them, expanding the menu of life a little. It appears that certain living creatures have evolved to consume something that is plastered just about everywhere.
The finding expands on research from 2020 that revealed some protists can consume viruses, demonstrating that some microorganisms may not only consume viruses but also continue to develop and proliferate in the absence of other food sources.
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Researchers Find Organism That Eats Other Virus, Microorganism
A group from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln conducted the study."They're made up of really good stuff: nucleic acids, a lot of nitrogen and phosphorous," said lead researcher John DeLong to New Atlas. "Everything should want to eat them. So many things will eat anything they can get ahold of. Surely something would have learned how to eat these really good raw materials."
The scientists took water samples from ponds to see if viruses may be a good food source. They discovered plenty of tasty pathogens including chlorovirus as well as bacteria. Green algae, which ponds love, is known to be infected by the freshwater virus.
A ciliate by the name of Halteria was found to be eating chlorovirus in the samples. Even when it was given no other food sources, it continued to grow and proliferate even as the levels of chlorovirus decreased. The Halteria did not survive in samples that were virus-free.
The outcomes of their fluorescent dye experiments will persuade you if the association isn't enough. The Halteria quickly began fluorescing as a result of digesting chlorovirus after attaching glowy goodness to the viruses' DNA.
IFL Science said the finding establishes Halteria as a virovore-a bacteria that consumes viruses. The potential that there are more virovores out there eating viruses for breakfast is highlighted by the fact that it combines well-worn terminology like carnivory, herbivory, and omnivory.
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DeLong sought research on aquatic species consuming viruses and, preferably, what occurred when they did in the academic literature. When he departed, he barely had anything.
One 1980s research stated that single-celled protists could consume viruses, but it left it at that. According to later Swiss studies, protists appeared to be filtering viruses out of wastewater.
DeLong said, per Interesting Engineering, that was all there was.
There was no discussion of the possible consequences on the microorganisms, much less the food webs or ecosystems they belonged to.
DeLong was surprised by this since he knew that viruses also included other crucial elements that makeup life, in addition to carbon. At least, in principle, they weren't junk food.
He mentioned the significant amounts of phosphorus, nitrogen, and nucleic acids they contain. In other words, they are priceless potential food sources.
The whole work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
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