Scientists Discover Giant Virus On Greenland Ice Sheet, Could Slow Down Melting

Scientists have discovered mysterious giant viruses on Greenland's ice sheet. These viruses were discovered for the first time in 1981 in the ocean. They usually infect the algae in the sea. But this is the first time that giant viruses have been found in such a habitat. However, researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark don't consider this as bad news, they say the giant viruses may act as some sort of secret weapon and help in minimising the ice from melting.

The study about the discovery has been published in the journal Microbiome.

"We don't know a lot about the viruses, but I think they could be useful as a way of alleviating ice melting caused by algal blooms. How specific they are and how efficient it would be, we do not know yet. But by exploring them further, we hope to answer some of those questions," Aarhus University researcher Laura Perini said in a statement posted on its website.

The team collected samples from ice sheets, including dark ice, ice cores, red and green snow and melting holes. After an analysis of the DNA, the researchers found sequences matching known giant viruses.

"There's a whole ecosystem surrounding the algae. Besides bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts, there are protists eating the algae, different species of fungi parasitizing them and the giant viruses that we found, infecting them," she further said.

What are giant viruses?

Viruses are normally much smaller than bacteria. As per Science Daily, regular viruses measure 20-200 nanometres in size, whereas a typical bacteria is 2-3 micrometres. In other words a normal virus is around 1,000 times smaller than a bacteria.

But giant viruses grow to the size of 2.5 micrometres. That is bigger than most bacteria.

Can these giant viruses be seen with naked eye?

No. Ms Perini said the team had to use the regular tools to find them. The giant viruses were not visible even under a light microscope.