Every kind of creature has probably evolved to devour some kind of organic substance. Various animals consume vegetables, meat, algae, insects, and germs, but scientists have now discovered a new item on the menu: viruses. According to a research that was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, since viruses are available everywhere, it is inevitable that organisms would mistakenly swallow them. In order to determine whether any bacteria actively absorbed viruses and whether such a diet may promote both individual and communal population development, John DeLong conducted research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They contain a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus, along with nucleic acids, according to DeLong. "Everyone ought to want to eat them. So many creatures will consume everything they can get their hands on. Something must have figured out how to devour these excellent raw materials. DeLong and his colleagues tested the notion, according to a New Atlas story, by takin g samples of pond water, extracting various microbes, and then introducing a large amount of chlorovirus, a freshwater resident that infects green algae. Over the course of the next several days, the researchers kept an eye on the populations of the various bacteria and viruses to see whether the latter were devouring the former. In fact, it looked that a specific ciliate bacterium by the name of Halteria was chewing on the viruses. In water samples where the ciliates were deprived of all other food sources for two days, Halteria populations increased by around 15 times, but chlorovirus concentrations decreased by 100 times. In control samples without the virus, Halteria did not develop in any way. In further studies, the scientists noticed that Halteria cells rapidly began to shine after labelling chlorovirus DNA with fluorescent dye. This made it simpler to confirm if Halteria was actually consuming the virus. These discoveries show that the recently coined word "virovory," with Halteria being recognised as the first known virovore, may now coexist with herbivory, carnivory, and other modes of feeding. Of course, it's not the only one, and scientists want to continue studying it as well as how it influences bigger systems like the carbon cycle and food webs.
Every kind of creature has probably evolved to devour some kind of organic substance. Various animals consume vegetables, meat, algae, insects, and germs, but scientists have now discovered a new item on the menu: viruses.
According to a research that was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, since viruses are available everywhere, it is inevitable that organisms would mistakenly swallow them. In order to determine whether any bacteria actively absorbed viruses and whether such a diet may promote both individual and communal population development, John DeLong conducted research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
They contain a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus, along with nucleic acids, according to DeLong. “Everyone ought to want to eat them. So many creatures will consume everything they can get their hands on. Something must have figured out how to devour these excellent raw materials.
DeLong and his colleagues tested the notion, according to a New Atlas story, by takin
g samples of pond water, extracting various microbes, and then introducing a large amount of chlorovirus, a freshwater resident that infects green algae. Over the course of the next several days, the researchers kept an eye on the populations of the various bacteria and viruses to see whether the latter were devouring the former.
In fact, it looked that a specific ciliate bacterium by the name of Halteria was chewing on the viruses. In water samples where the ciliates were deprived of all other food sources for two days, Halteria populations increased by around 15 times, but chlorovirus concentrations decreased by 100 times. In control samples without the virus, Halteria did not develop in any way.
In further studies, the scientists noticed that Halteria cells rapidly began to shine after labelling chlorovirus DNA with fluorescent dye. This made it simpler to confirm if Halteria was actually consuming the virus.
These discoveries show that the recently coined word “virovory,” with Halteria being recognised as the first known virovore, may now coexist with herbivory, carnivory, and other modes of feeding. Of course, it’s not the only one, and scientists want to continue studying it as well as how it influences bigger systems like the carbon cycle and food webs.
