Over 30,000 virus “stowaways” discovered hiding in microbe genomes

The impressive feat of detective work has revealed thousands of sequences that have never been seen before. DNA sequences from over 30,000 previously unknown viruses have been discovered, thanks to a seriously powerful computer and some clever detective work. The team, led by Dr Christopher Bellas at the University of Innsbruck, was astounded when their study of a group of complex micro-organisms called protists came up with a whole lot more than they bargained for. Genetic material left behind by viruses pops up surprisingly often in the genomes of lots of species, including humans. Called endogenous viral elements (EVEs), these are often characterized as viral “fossils” – they’re considered to be non-functional, mere relics of ancient viral infections. They certainly don’t appear to cause any harm to their host organisms, despite how very widespread they are. “We were very surprised by how many viruses we found through this analysis,” said Bellas in a...