17-Oct-2024
Identifying the genes that #viruses ‘steal’ from ocean #microbes
Study suggests viruses reprogram at least 1/3 of metabolic processes
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1061703 #science #ecology #MicrobialEcology #genome
EurekAlert!Identifying the genes that viruses ‘steal’ from ocean microbesA new study gets scientists closer to more fully understanding where viruses fit into the global ocean picture of cycling nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and, of particular interest, carbon. Researchers report on their creation of a catalog of genes that viruses “stole” from the marine microbes they infected across all of the world’s oceans, identifying and organizing almost 23,000 genes known as auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs), including over 7,000 never previously documented.