More than 1,700 viruses have been discovered frozen in the Gulia Glacier in Tibet. The discovery was made by a group of scientists from Ohio State University and their results were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The scientists drilled an ice core more than 200 m deep and dated the ice samples. They then sequenced and isolated the DNA of the viruses. Most of the viruses (about three-quarters) were described for the first time. But about a quarter are well known: they are found in Arctic glaciers and even outside glaciers in the Middle East.
Scientists explain that none of the viruses found threaten organisms living on Earth. The viruses remain fragmented or have already infected microorganisms and are therefore neutralized.
The researchers paid particular attention to the viral community, which is about 11,500 years old. This is the warming period after the Ice Age. At this point, viruses and other microorganisms began to change to adapt to the rising temperatures.
Similar processes are probably taking place today. The melting of the Arctic or Greenland, the rise of Antarctica, the rise of sea levels. But changes occurring in the microcosm can affect life on Earth in no less significant ways. Analysis of ice cores, which allows us to study the evolution of viruses, is necessary to predict the impact of climate change on the microcosm.
Scientists make another point. The techniques used to analyze ice cores and look for signs of life could help in the search for extraterrestrial life. Saturn’s moon Enceladus or Jupiter’s moon Europa probably have subglacial oceans. If so, then the methods scientists developed to analyze ice cores from Tibet could be useful for analyzing ice cores from these celestial bodies.
