Discovered giant virus in the Pacific – with the longest tail ever seen

With only one micron in length, the tail of a huge virus recently discovered can reformulate our understanding of marine viral life.

It is not uncommon for scientists to find occasionally something strange in the middle of the North Pacific.

But a little north of Hawaii, they have now seen something that they didn’t expect: A giant virus with longest tail already documented in a virus.

The discovery was presented in a pre-published in the BIORHIVIVEwhich reports that the virus tail, which was given the name of Pelv-1can extend to 2.3 microns-longer than many bacteria and more than double the length of the tail of the Tupanvirusthe previous holder of the record.

The history of Pelv-1 began at Aloha Station, a long-term monitoring site in the North Pacific Subtropical Giro, says the.

Scientists collected seawater 25 meters below the surface, isolating a dinoflagellate Pelagodinium – And, to your surprise, Your viral parasite.

The virus infects dinoflagellatesa group of organisms that are in phytoplankton – What is quite rare by itself.

The viruses that infect dinoflagellates are Notoriously elusive. Only two other major DNA viruses that infect members of this group are known, and None have a sequenced genome.

This gap is important because Dinoflagellates are central actors in marine ecosystems – form symbiotic partnershipsfeed trophic networks and sometimes trigger harmful racket flowers.

Understanding their viral enemies could reveal how energy and nutrients move through the ocean.

The longest tail of the virusifer

Electronic microscopy revealed the most striking feature of Pelv-1: A thin tail of 30 Nanometers of Largura which can extend more than 10 times the capside length of 200 nanometers of the virus.

Some virions also have a shorts and stewed at the opposite end, emerging from a star -shaped opening called “Stargate”.

The images collected suggest that Uses your tail to cling host cells at the beginning of the infection. But curiously, the newly graduated viruses inside the host cells They completely lack tailsimplying that the appendix It is set up laterafter the cell bursts.

This unusual life cycle raises questions about what the tail does in the open ocean. Investigators suspect that increases the hypotheses that the virus bumps into a host in this system of nutrient -poor circular currents.

Thus, the appendix increases the effective diameter of the virusincreasing the probability that you can contact a potential host, the study authors say.

Viral DNA sequencing brought another surprise: cultures housed a Second Virus.

Nicknamed co-pelvthis second virus belongs to the same family, Mesomimiviridaebut lacks tail genes. However, its own Metabolic tool arsenal – including enzymes to decompose chlorophyll and cellulose – and can influence not only the metabolism of your host but also your behavior.

Also the Pelv-1 genome is huge for a virus – 459,000 base pairs content 467 genes.

Some of these genes perform functions usually seen in living cells, including parts of the cell cycle of the cell, proteins that capture light, and even rodopsina – A light -sensitive molecule that can help the virus enjoy sunlight.