The microbes are the first known to be able to eat only viruses
A particular bacteria called Halteria appeared to be chewing on viruses. Any kind of creature has most likely evolved to eat some kind of organic substance.
In addition to eating vegetables, meat, algae, insects and germs, certain animals also consume viruses, which have just been discovered by scientists recently.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/these-microbes-eat-viruses
It’s inevitable that species may mistakenly swallow viruses since they are ubiquitous everywhere, according to research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
John DeLong, a researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was interested in discovering whether any bacteria actively absorbed viruses and whether such a diet might promote population growth in both the individual and the community.
Viruses have lots of phosphorus, nitrogen nucleic acids
They contain a lot of phosphorus, a lot of nitrogen, and nucleic acids, according to the researcher, DeLong. Everyone should be tempted to consume them. There are so many creatures that will consume whatever they can.
Something would have undoubtedly figured out how to consume these excellent raw resources.
A New Atlas story says DeLong and his team tested the notion by taking samples of pond water, extracting various microbes, and then introducing a significant amount of chlorovirus, a freshwater inhabitant that infects green algae.
Over the next few days, the scientists kept an eye in the numbers of the various bacteria and viruses to check if the latter were devouring the former. In fact, a specific ciliate bacterium by the name of Halteria appeared to be chewing on the viruses.
In water samples where the ciliates lacked access to any other food supply, Halteria population increased by around 15 times in just two days, whereas chlorovirus concentrations decreased by 100 times. In the absence of the virus, Halteria did not develop at all in control samples.
Further study of bacteria that eats viruses linked to carbon cycle and food web
In further studies, the scientists found that after labelling chlorovirus DNA with fluorescent dye, Halteria cells instantly began to shine. It was now simpler to confirm that Halteria was in fact consuming the virus.
These studies demonstrate that the recently formed term virovory can now coexist with herbivory, carnivory, and other forms of eating, with Halteria being recognised as the first known virovore.
If Halteria is the first discovered virovore bacteria, it is probably not the only one as millions of types have yet to be discovered. It is not the only one, of course, and the researchers intend to keep looking into it, as well as how it affects broader systems like the carbon cycle and food webs.
Source: National geographic
