Ancient Virus 'Resurrected' From 30,000-Year-Old Ice In Siberia

Ronak Shah

Author-Ed Yong

Date: 03/04/2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/ancient-virus-ice-siberia_n_4895541.html

Summary: 

This article talks about how recently Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Abergel led a group of researchers in the work to try and resurrect a virus in Siberia. This virus is one of the largest ever found, at 1.5 micrometers long it rivals the size of some small bacteria and has double stranded bacteria. The virus is also still infectious but only attacks amoeba. There are many surprising properties. Instead of attacking the nucleus, it creates virus factories in the host's cytoplasm. The most surprising part however, is the fact that though the virus is very large, it has a very small genome. It was thought that a property of a virus was to pack as much info into as small a space as possible but this virus is 150 times less compacted than any bacteriophage we know of. 

Conclusion:
This article directly relates back to our studies on microbes and viruses. This article relates to many of the studies we did on viruses because we learned about the shape of this huge virus is a little different than the traditional head-tail orientation. Also we studied both the Lytic and Lysogenic cycle and how bacteria normally recreate themselves and this giant virus is closer to the Lytic to the Lysogenic from what I have read. This also relates a little to what we have done on DNA because this virus is advanced in that it contains a double stranded DNA rather than a single stranded RNA. This also helps us relate it to our study on the volution of microbes because even though we know that it is not that old only 30000 years, RNA was a more simple way of copying genetic information so it is possible its origination is old.

Viruses in 700-year-old human feces have antibiotic resistance genes

Matthew He 

9 March 2014

Written by Marie Ellis

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273386.php

Summary: Scientists have excavated uncovered latrines dating back to the 1300s in Belgium. After the specimen was carefully collected, the team carefully analyzed the substance, finding phages, or viruses, rather than Eukaryotes like plants or fungi. They compared the fossilized sample's DNA virome with the viromes of 21 modern human stool specimens and found that many of the viral sequences were related to viruses known today to infect bacteria in stools. This demonstrates how the human gastrointestinal tract has remained unchanged after so many centuries, even in the wake of changing diets and conditions. It also supports the theory that the viral community plays a vital role in the human gut and human health in general. Of the genes found in the phage, the team found antibiotic resistance genes and genes resistant to toxic compounds, which is a normal part of life, as toxins and antibiotics are common in nature.

Connection: This is a direct relation to bacteria, and especially bacteria with resistant properties. For our term lab, we discussed the properties of natural antibiotics as an alternative to antibiotic resistant bacteria. However this discovery shows that resistance isn't always fostered by overuse of antibiotics, as there were none in the 1300s. However, it connects the principles of genetic variation and shows that viruses and phages helped humans, and haven't changed much in 700 years. The evidence demonstrates that indeed viruses and phages play an important role in human health, as the fact that they haven't changed shows that in some way the viruses must play a positive role in some way to the human gut. 

Protective Phages

Edyta Zielinska 
May 20, 2013
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35635/title/Protective-Phages/

Summary
     Researchers have discovered bacteriophages, or bacterium-attacking viruses, in the protective mucous layer present in many animals, including humans. Since mucus provides a warm, wet environment that is optimal for bacterial growth, scientists infer that the bacteriophages present in the mucus help to control the growth of bacteria in those areas. The researchers pinpointed the Ig receptor in about 25% of the bacteriophages: further research suggests that the Ig receptor causes the viruses to become "stuck" in the mucous layer, whereas without the receptor they would be able to travel due to their small size. Testing phage-treated mucus-producing cells versus cells not treated with phages, scientists monitored growth of an E. coli strain they added to both samples. Results concluded that the phage-treated cells were protected from the bacteria and untreated cells were not.

Connection
     This article connects to our current unit on the immune system. The mucus lining the respiratory and digestive tracts helps to defend against infection by providing a physical barrier against bacteria. The article suggests a more specific role for the mucus layers: the destruction of harmful bacteria using symbiotic phages. Whether the phages are specific defense against pathogens, or are an extension of the nonspecific immune system is unclear, but the bacteriophages play a definite role in bacterial defense.