The discovery of the largest and strangest bacterial avian virus so far

Mohammed Shaban

Bacteria are classified as single-celled microorganisms with a primitive nucleus. They are autonomous beings, as they can perform basic life functions without the need for a host.

While viruses - which are smaller than bacteria - are classified as biological machines that contain their own genetic material, and they also need a host for them to multiply, as they transfer their genetic material to the attacked family in order to be able to do so.

There has not yet been a clear separation distinguishing between microbes as living organisms and viruses as biological machines. However, recently, scientists have discovered new capabilities for a type of virus that has bacteriophages that are similar to other organisms.

The University of California researchers at Berkeley - in their research published in the journal "Nature" on February 12 - identified a type of colloid streptococcus that could serve as the link between living microbes and deadly viral machines.

Giant stingers of bacteria
Scientists have identified 351 different species of these giant mites: they have four times more genetic material than the viruses they use to prey on unicellular bacteria. This is the longest genome to be discovered by bacteria.

Jill Banfield, the lead author of this study and a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, speaks to her in a statement quoted by Phys Organ, saying, "The huge discovered markups are the link between inactivities of non-living bacteria on the one hand, and bacteria and archaea on the other." A successful hybrid mechanism was between traditional viruses and other traditional organisms. "

Defense mechanism against viral epitopes
Bacteria have developed a system to defend themselves against any external attack, for example, from viruses. Once the bacteriophages have been attacked and their genetic material inserted into the bacteria, the latter activates its defensive mechanism known as the CRISPR system.

This defense system has recently been re-engineered by scientists in a technique called "CRISPR-Cas9" that has become a genetic modification tool.

"It is surprising to see how bacteriophages adapted the CRISPR defensive system found in bacteria and archaea for their own benefit," says Basim al-Shayeb, a graduate researcher at the University of California at Berkeley.

Despite desperate bacteria's attempts to defend themselves, there are a few membranes that have been able to counteract by making a protein similar to Cas 9, which is part of the reengineered CRISPR-Cas 9 system. Scientists have called this Cass-Fi this discovered protein.

Commenting on this, the first co-author of the study, Rohan Scadeva, says, "These huge markers open many horizons for exploring new tools that can be adapted into genome engineering. Most of their genes are not known to function, and may represent a source of new proteins that may be used for industrial, medical or agricultural purposes."

Victim of war between bacteria and viruses
Viruses carry genes and transmit them accidentally between cells. Thus, it contributes to increasing the cells ’resistance to antibiotics because they also transmit antibiotic-resistant genes from among the genes they transmit.

Since bacteriophages exist wherever bacteria and archaea are found (including bacteria in the intestine), they thus carry these genes that are harmful to humans, leading to the development of human diseases.

"Therefore, the larger the size of the genetic material being transmitted, the greater the chance that such pathogens will be transmitted," Banfield added.

The line between life and nothing
"Having the ribosomes (units used for protein synthesis) as well as the ability to perform translation (protein synthesis within the cell) is a characteristic that separates viruses and bacteria. Some of the huge colloids detected on this cellular translation machine" are added.

These massive membranes use their large genetic material to direct bacterial ribosomes to synthesize their own proteins at the expense of bacteria.

Banfield concludes, "These mammals are widespread in most of the Earth's different ecosystems, and do not belong to a specific ecosystem. Having this large genome made it a successful survival strategy. It is of course a strategy that we know very little about."