Scientists find some 'gigantic' viruses in soil samples

Viruses were always a thing of fascination. The normally 'dead' microbes appear instantly to be 'living' when they find a host cell to attack. Even a casual reader of the news knows a bit about viruses.

This was some years ago.

Now, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the entire world knows what havoc can these microbes cause.

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While hoping that the world doesn't see another pandemic, it sounds like a good idea to keep an eye on viruses. A research paper is making news because it says that researchers have found some 'gigantic' viruses in just a few hundred-gram of soil.

This research paper is available on pre-print server bioArxiv.

Sciencealert reported that the researchers have found viruses measuring 635 nanometres. For comparison, viruses that usually create problems for humans are usually 50-140 nm wide.

In their research paper, the scientists have said that they were 'quite confident' that what they found were viruses and not material discarded from their cells by microbes. This is because, the shell, or Capsids as they are called, have distinctive shapes.

The soil sample was collected in Harvard Forest near Boston. The sample was then analysed at the famous Max Planck Institute in Germany.

"Transmission electron microscopy … revealed an astounding diversity of virus-like particles," write the researchers, as quoted by Scienealert.

"Amazingly, we found that a few hundred grams of forest soil contained a greater diversity… than… all hitherto isolated giant viruses combined."

"This fascinating window into the complex world of soil viruses leaves little doubt that the high genetic diversity of giant viruses is matched by diverse and previously unimaginable particle structures, whose origins and functions remain to be studied," writes microbiologist Matthias Fischer, electron microscopist Ulrike Mersdorf, and biologist Jeffrey Blanchard.

So does this mean we are moving towards another pandemic? Well, we should thank the scientific community for being watchful on that count.

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