Giant viruses ‘Gorgo’ and ‘Tuttle’ – Photo: BIORXIV
by page popular mechanics, Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) of the US Department of Energy conducted a study in the Harvard Forest – an area about 15.5 km wide.2 west of Boston, Massachusetts (USA).
While trying to understand how bacteria respond to warming soils caused by climate change, they came across a collection of “giant” viruses many times larger than normal virus samples.
This huge virus-laden soil was transferred to the Max Planck Institute in Germany and examined with a special electron microscope to magnify objects with an electron beam.
After five years, the new results are officially published in early July 2023 on BioRXI – an open-access preprint repository for biological sciences, according to the scientific news site. science alert,
Accordingly, the piece of soil is filled with giant viruses, they are up to 635 nanometers (nm) wide/individual. Whereas viruses that are common in humans, such as the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic, are only 50–140 nanometers wide.
“We found that just a few hundred grams of forest soil contained more diversity than all the giant viruses ever isolated,” the scientists expressed their surprise.
One of these strange giant viruses has large, symmetrically arranged genera, which the researchers describe as a “tortoise” morphology.
On the left is the 380nm wide ‘turtle’ virus found in Harvard Forest soil. This makes the viewer think of a turtle (right) – photo: BIORXIV
Another virus has long tubes protruding all over it, reminiscent of the ancient Greek mythological figure Medusa. Scientists have named this structure “Gorgon”. In Greek mythology, the Gorgon is a female monster.
Another type is called “haircuts”, a large family of viruses with shaggy heads that look like troll dolls. There are also “Christmas star” viruses, which have a bilayered envelope shaped like two interlocking triangles, and “falcon” viruses, which have a structure similar to a falcon’s beak…
Microbiologist Mathias Fischer, electron microscopist Ulrike Meersdorff and biologist Jeffrey Blanchard said: “Just a handful of soil has led us into the complex world of viruses. Their origin and function are still being studied.
Pictured on the left is the 410nm-wide ‘Gorgon’ virus found in the soil of the Harvard Forest. Right picture: statue of Medusa – photo: BIORXIV
The ‘haircut’ virus was found in Harvard forest land (left) and a troll doll (right) – photo: BIORXIV
The 490nm-wide ‘supernova’ virus (left) and an artist’s drawing of the supernova (right) – photo: BIORXIV
The virus ‘Christmas Star’ (left) and a star on a Christmas tree (right) – Photo: BIORXIV
“Super giant” virus under the ice
In 2010, scientists discovered the 700nm-wide megavirus chilensis off the coast of Chile. At that time this virus made a world record as the largest virus.
As of 2013, 1,000 nm of Pandoravirus was found in a pond in Melbourne. It is named after the legendary Pandora’s Box.
In 2014, melting snow revealed the 1,500 nm-wide Pithovirus sibericum. It is a giant virus that has been buried in the Siberian permafrost for 30,000 years and is the largest virus alive today.
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