A team of researchers suggests that thousands of previously unknown RNA viruses may be lurking in the ocean.
As the scientists explain in an article published on The Conversation, they screened a global database of RNA sequences that was collected during the Tara Oceans expeditions global research project, identifying “over 44,000 genes that code for the virus protein” in the process.
Using machine learning, the team was able to identify some 5,504 new marine RNA viruses and double the number of known RNA virus biological groups, or phyla, from five to 10.
“These new sequences help scientists better understand not only the evolutionary history of RNA viruses but also the evolution of early life on Earth,” the researchers explain.
RNA viruses, as the team points out, are best known for the diseases they cause in people, and can also “infect plants and animals important to people”.
The researchers do note that it “remains challenging” to determine what organisms these newly identified viruses infect.