{"id":26721,"date":"2022-12-30T17:47:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T17:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/30\/scientists-discover-the-first-virus-eating-organism\/"},"modified":"2022-12-30T17:47:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T17:47:21","slug":"scientists-discover-the-first-virus-eating-organism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/30\/scientists-discover-the-first-virus-eating-organism\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Discover the First Virus-Eating Organism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Image: Konstantin Kolosov\/Pixabay)<\/small><\/center>The so-called \u201ccircle of life\u201d dictates that if a living thing exists, it\u2019s probably food for something else. Viruses, however, have historically managed to escape this unofficial rule. Although plenty of organisms eat viruses accidentally as they consume other living things, no organism has been known to munch viruses on purpose\u2014until now.<\/p>\n

A research team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has identified the first known \u201cvirovore,\u201d or virus-eating organism. Biologist John DeLong was leading his colleagues in the search for virus-consuming microbes by taking freshwater samples from a nearby pond. Back at the lab, the team isolated the samples\u2019 various microbes and added chlorovirus\u2014an algae-targeting freshwater virus\u2014to the water. Eventually, they found exactly what they were looking for: a ciliate (or single-celled organism with hair-like cilia) referred to as Halteria<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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Halteria under a microscope. (Image: Don Loarie\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Scientists have known about Halteria<\/i>\u2019s existence for quite some time, but they\u2019ve always thought the ciliate consumed only bacteria. But in the lab, Halteria<\/i> showed an appetite for far more than their typical algae: They appeared to be devouring the added chlorovirus. When DeLong\u2019s team eliminated all food sources other than chlorovirus from their sample tanks, Halteria<\/i> grew 15-fold in just two days. Meanwhile, chlorovirus levels dropped to just 1% of its original population.<\/p>\n

DeLong and his team sought to confirm Halteria<\/i>\u2019s appetite for chlorovirus by injecting the virus with fluorescent dye. Soon enough, Halteria<\/i> began to glow. The team also saw that Paramecium bursaria<\/i>, another freshwater-dwelling ciliate, appeared to consume chlorovirus; however, Paramecium<\/i> didn\u2019t grow in size or population after doing so.<\/p>\n

Viruses are abundant in water and are chock-full of \u201craw materials\u201d like nitrogen, phosphorus, and nucleic acids, making them a convenient snack for organisms willing to chow down on them. DeLong\u2019s team believes the discovery of Halteria<\/i>\u2019s intentional virus consumption could guide broader ecological studies, such as those involving aquatic food webs. As they note<\/a> in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, current food web models neglect the interactions between viruses and their predators; research like DeLong\u2019s might inform the expansion of those webs to include the consumption of viruses.<\/p>\n

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