Thanks to the data collected by the Tara Ocean Foundation between 2009 and 2013 during its expeditions, this discovery could make it possible to understand a little better the origin of herpes, in particular thanks to plankton.
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They are halfway between the giant viruses, very present in the oceans, and those of human herpes. A new family of viruses called “Mirusvirus” (“amazing” in Latin), has been discovered by the Tara Ocean Foundation, reveals a study published on April 19. This composition is considered very interesting by Tom Delmont, researcher at the CNRS and specialist in microbial ecology: “Mirusvirus is the ocean complement that infects herpes plankton, which infects humans. So even if you drink the cup, you can drink a few, but there is no risk” .
These viruses are beneficial and regulate the plankton community in the oceans, organisms essential to the survival of our ecosystems, explains Tom Delmont: “They will infect cells. The cell will die, it will release lots of nutrients which will be reused by the rest of the community and allow the community to regenerate and be active.”
Learn more about these viruses, and about ocean biodiversity
The evolution of these viruses is also studied. This is the area of research of Morgan Gaïa, microbiologist at the National Sequencing Center. “The oceans are still an ecosystem that we know rather poorly overall, says the researcher. And this is all the more so for viruses for which, for decades, the emphasis has been placed rather on the means of combating these viruses. And finally, for 20.30 years we realize that they are particularly important from this point of view.”
The next step in this new scientific adventure involves the cultivation of these viruses. Objective: to learn more about ocean biodiversity.
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