A Novel Viruss Cousins Are Surprisingly Abundant
When 黑料吃瓜 computer scientist Rob Edwards discovered crAssphage in 2014, it was just the tip of a viral iceberg.
鈥淭he discovery of crAssphage 鈥� is arguably one of the most striking feats of metagenomics to date,鈥� wrote biologist Eugene Koonin from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in Bethesda, Maryland, in a recent published in the journal Nature Microbiology. 鈥淸Edwards鈥� finding] Was a true sensation and a shock at the same time.鈥�
The virus鈥攌nown as a bacteriophage, which infects and reproduces inside bacteria鈥攚as a secret for so long because traditional methods for viral discovery rely upon the ability to first cultivate them in a lab. If the bacteria they inhabit don鈥檛 grow easily in a petri dish, scientists never learn about the bacteria or their viruses.
Edwards鈥� innovation was ditching the traditional approach for a computational one. He and colleagues used computer software called cross assembly (hence the virus鈥檚 name) to sort through all the DNA and RNA present in a sample, separate out the known microbes, and locate the genetic signatures of a virus.
When Edwards and colleagues used the software a few years ago to scan gut microbes from human feces from around the world, they found the new bacteriophage, crAssphage in abundance, but they didn鈥檛 know whether the virus was a one-off discovery or if it was just the tip of the viral iceberg.
鈥淥ne of the big unknowns was, is this phage unique?鈥� said Edwards. 鈥淲e found it in the human intestine, but we didn鈥檛 know if we would find it elsewhere.鈥�
So Edwards and 黑料吃瓜 biologist Anca Segall teamed up with NCBI scientists led by Koonin to look for similar viruses elsewhere in nature, mostly in marine environments. They first pinned down key proteins in crAssphage鈥攖he virus鈥檚 genetic fingerprints鈥攖hen looked for those patterns in dozens of microbial samples from around the world.
After analyzing the data, they were surprised to find that crAssphage鈥檚 viral cousins are equally abundant in nature, the researchers . Though it remains unclear what role, if any, these viruses play in human health, identifying this widespread family of viruses could shed light on the evolution of viruses within our microbiomes.
Some of that work will likely play out in 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 new , slated to open in January. The complex will house the Viral Information Institute, one of the world鈥檚 foremost research centers for viral ecology.
鈥淸crAssphage] Is really a diverse virus that is all over the globe,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淲hen we identified it, we didn鈥檛 realize we had found something that would wind up being so widespread. It was sort of like we found the first tree without knowing about forests.鈥�
