2023-11-18 05:00:00
This is the first time such viral behavior has been observed. Rory Morrow Meteored United Kingdom 18.11.2023 – 06:00 a.m. 4 min
For the first time, scientists have observed unusual behavior in certain viruses: A virus attaches itself to another like a vampire in order to multiply.
These viral relationships, in which one virus (the satellite) depends on a second virus (the helper) to complete its life cycle, have been known for some time. But No one has yet seen a satellite virus physically attach itself to its unwilling partner.
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This behavior was observed in a type of The bacteriophage (a virus that infects bacteria) is observed constantly on his “neck”, where the main body of the virus joins the tail, attaches to another bacteriophage. The researchers describe their results in a new study published in Journal of Microbial Ecology has been published.
“When I saw it, I thought, ‘I can’t believe it,'” said Tagide deCarvalho, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “No one has ever seen a bacteriophage – or any other virus – attached to another virus.”
Satellitenstiche
This “Vampire”as they are of course called, were randomly discovered in a student’s bacteriophage sample sent to the University of Pittsburgh sequencing lab.
The sample contained not only a large genetic sequence of the expected bacteriophage, but also something smaller that didn’t match what the researchers knew. It wasn’t until the team turned to deCarvalho and a transmission electron microscope that they realized what was going on.
Most satellite viruses have a special gene, which allows them to integrate into the DNA of the host cells they invade (e.g. bacterial cells). You still need a helper virus, but it just needs to be located elsewhere in the same cell, the study authors explain.
Satellite bacteriophage (left) attached to the larger helper bacteriophage (right). Photo credit: Tagide deCarvalho/UMBC.
But the satellite virus discovered in his research lacks this gene. Therefore, since it cannot integrate into the host cell’s DNA, it must be close to its helper when it enters the cell in order to survive.
“It makes a lot of sense to put them up now”says Ivan Erill, co-author and professor of biological sciences at UMBC, “because how else can you guarantee that you get into the cell at the same time?”
A forever relationship
The researchers found that 80% of responders wore satellites on their necks, and those who did not pointed frequently Signs of previous attachments in the form of leftover tendrilswhich Erill as Bite marks designated.
They also found that these two viruses have evolved together over a long period of time, namely almost 100 million years. This suggests that there may be many more such cases yet to be discovered. The team hopes to investigate this in future research, including exploring how exactly the satellite virus connects with its helper.
News Reference
deCarvalho, T., Mascolo, E., Caruso, SM et al. Simultaneous entry as an adaptation to virulence in a novel satellite-helper system infecting Streptomyces species. ISME J (2023).
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