Scientists report the discovery of 161,979 new species of RNA viruses, many of which represent previously obscured branches of life thriving in a wide variety of habitats around the world. The discovery was made possible using cutting-edge artificial intelligence approaches and was published yesterday in Cell. It marks the largest effort to date to catalog virus species, further clarifying our understanding of viral diversity.
The International Research team, led by Professor Edwards Holmes from the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney, reflected on the significant implications of their discovery. “We have gained access to a previously hidden aspect of life on Earth, showcasing extraordinary biodiversity,” Professor Holmes remarked. He emphasized that this remarkable number of newly identified virus species substantially enhances our understanding and indicates that millions more remain to be discovered. “Identifying these many new viruses at once is overwhelming; it merely scratches the surface,” he added.
In fact, though RNA viruses are well known to be associated with human diseases, in the research paper, they exist all over extreme environments ranging from the atmosphere to hot springs and hydrothermal vents. “The occurrence of such diversity of viruses that could thrive in extreme environments is an example of their tenacity and adaptability. It may shed light on the origins of viruses and other life forms,” according to Professor Holmes.
One AI program called LucaProt has successfully analyzed millions of genetic sequences and has even analyzed the virus genomes up to 47,250 nucleotides in size. Many of those that it identified were, in fact, the very same viruses sequenced and deposited into public databases. That, however, was because they were so divergent from known relatives that elements were assumed to be the “dark matter” of the following events. In fact, AI classified and sorted the results itself, thus overcoming the question of what it all means: many uncharacterized viruses turned out to play interesting roles.
In a discussion on the integration of AI technology with virology, Dr. Zhao-Rong Li, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, stated that this integration is of great significance. He provided an excellent example with LucaProt of how AI further facilitates the discovery of biology. “This amalgamation offers precious comprehensions and purpose to decode more biological sequences,” he said.
Adding to the discussion, an institutional lead from Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Mang Shi, noted that with the traditional means of bioinformatics discovery, it was not as wide as it could be when viruses were dealt with. The AI model ensured that sensitivity and specificity were given in a way that previously was not possible, hence offering scientists the leeway to explore more viral diversity.
Prof. Holmes shares, “The next logical step would be to enhance our method to explore even more of this extraordinary and fascinating diversity, and one can only speculate as to the surprises that remain.” This work advances our understanding of what viruses do in ecosystems and lays the groundwork for more research into the future of microbiology and virology that awaits us.
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