The authors of the new work combined machine learning analysis with traditional studying methods
The most extensive collection of RNA viruses belongs to a phylum that the authors proposed to call Taraviricota. Its representatives are found in almost all samples.
RNA viruses are certainly important, but we usuallyWe study only a tiny part of them - several hundred that harm people, plants and animals. We would like to systematically study them on a large scale.
Matthew Sullivan is a professor of microbiology at Ohio State University.
Microbes make a significant contribution to the development of alllife on the planet, and the viruses that infect or interact with them have different effects on the functions of microorganisms. These types of viruses are believed to have three main functions: kill cells, change how infected cells manage resources, and transfer genes from one host to another.
According to the researchers, it is important to studythe diversity and abundance of viruses in the world's oceans: this will help explain how marine microbes affect ocean adaptation to climate change. The oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide that humans produce from the atmosphere, and previous research by this group has shown that marine viruses are the "regulator" that is responsible for how carbon accumulates in the ocean.
During the new work, the group found hundreds of newRNA viruses that belong to existing types. But the analysis also revealed thousands more species, which they grouped into five new phyla: Taraviricota, Pomiviricota, Paraxenoviricota, Wamoviricota, and Arctiviricota.
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