The Mysterious Giant Virus can Slowly Open the Star Door

In recent years, from the permafrost that thawed in Siberia, to the ice deep in Antarctica, scientists have discovered some mysterious prehistoric giant viruses. Thousands of years after being locked in ice and frozen in time capsules, they have revived and rejuvenated because of the opportunities brought about by climate warming. The giant virus found in Siberia, Russia, even after being frozen in permafrost for 30,000 years, still has the ability to infect. So how do these viruses infect the host, will humans be infected? A team of scientists from Michigan State University in the United States conducted a study on this and found the environmental conditions in which the virus stargate was opened.

The size of the giant virus exceeds 300 nanometers, while common viruses, such as the rhinovirus that causes the common cold, are only about 30 nanometers. The giant virus shell is durable and able to withstand harsh environmental conditions, protecting the virus genome inside. In this study, scientists analyzed four giant viruses, including three previously discovered viruses, Mimivirus, Antarctica virus, Samba virus, and a newly discovered map. Tupanvirusas, which are some icosahedral or icosahedral viruses, look very sci-fi. These viruses have a special mechanism to release their viral genomes. At the apex of their shells, there is a starfish-shaped seal, which scientists call a stargate. During the infection process, these "starfish" and stargates open and release. Virus genome.

Because the size of the virus is difficult to imagine, it is difficult for scientists to find the virus that is in the state of infection during the research process. These viruses account for only about one-millionth. Researchers have developed a new method to simulate the stage of infection. They have performed a series of strict chemical and environmental treatments on various viruses, aiming to simulate the conditions that the virus may encounter during the infection process. Using the new low-temperature electron microscope and scanning electron microscope that the school can image at the atomic level, researchers can capture viruses and proteins during infection and study their structure. It was found that low pH, high temperature and high salt are the three environmental conditions that induce the virus to open the stargate. More importantly, each situation leads to different stages of infection. Through these data, scientists have designed a model that can more effectively and reliably simulate virus infections, allowing scientists to simulate these stages reliably and at high frequencies, opening the door for future research and greatly simplifying any Research.

The preliminary research produced some new findings, such as the virus opening the stargate is not simply a one-time release, but slowly unzipping like a zipper, updating scientists' understanding of the giant virus release genome strategy; In the process of releasing proteins in one stage, scientists discovered that proteins play the role of workers, coordinating many biological processes required for virus infection and hijacking the cell's ability to reproduce and replicate itself. However, as to whether certain giant viruses will infect humans, scientists have not obtained more discoveries, and more in-depth research is needed. However, in previous studies, some giant viruses have also been reported, such as pseudomycovirus, which may be a potential pathogen of some pneumonia. The research was published in the May 8 issue of Cell.

Reference:
Phys: New study shines a light on mysterious giant viruses
Cell: Structural and Proteomic Characterization of the Initiation of Giant Virus Infection