Arctic researchers have found signs of living giant viruses Greenland Snow can help mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.
Giant viruses are about 1,500 times larger than normal viruses VirusesMicroalgae may have attacked the rapid melting of Greenland’s ice, turning it dark.
For the first time, in a new study published May 17 in the journal microorganism, scientists have identified signs that giant viruses live in snow and ice, which contain abundant colorful algae, suggesting a relationship between the two. The team hopes that finding and understanding these viruses will open up ways to naturally control algae growth and, therefore, reduce the melt.
„We don’t know much about viruses, but I think they could be useful as a way to mitigate snowmelt caused by algal blooms,” said the study’s lead author. Laura PeriniA postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark, A Report.
„We don’t yet know how specific and how efficient they are. But by studying them further, we hope to answer some of those questions,” he added.
Related: Greenland is losing a lot of ice and getting higher
The algae lies dormant in Greenland’s ice sheet and blooms in the spring, darkening areas of the normally white landscape. Darker color reflects less sunlight than white snow and ice, which accelerates melting, the report said.
The researchers collected samples from dark ice, red ice and melt holes at different locations on the Greenland ice sheet in 2019 and 2020. They then analyzed the DNA in those samples and identified sequences of genes with the most similarities to the giant viruses. Nucleocytoviricota phylum.
„We found signatures of active giant viruses in both dark ice and red ice. And it’s the first time that they have pigmented microbes in surface snow and ice in high abundance,” Perini said.
Algae are part of a complex ecosystem that includes bacteria, fungi and Opponents – A collection of usually small, unicellular organisms that do not fit into other groups. Perini and his team will conduct further research in an effort to better understand the ecosystem as a whole so they can determine which hosts the viruses infect and confirm that they attack the algae.
„We are [will] „Keep studying giant viruses to learn more about their interactions and their role in the environment,” Perini said.