Large sections of permafrost are melting as the planet warms, unleashing materials that have been encased in its icy grip for years. This comprises a plethora of bacteria that, in some cases, have been inactive for hundreds of millennia.
Scientists have already brought back many of these “zombie viruses” from Siberian permafrost in order to study the emerging bacteria, including one that is thought to be nearly 50,000 years old, which is a record for a frozen virus that has returned to a stage where it may infect other species.
According to the research team, which was led by microbiologist Jean-Marie Alempic from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, these reanimating viruses could pose a serious threat to the public’s health. More research is required to determine the risk that these infectious agents might present when they awaken from their frozen slumber.
The researchers note in their report that permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, covers one-fourth of the Northern Hemisphere.
Because of global warming, permafrost that has been frozen for up to a million years is irreversibly thawing, releasing organic material, much of which breaks down into carbon dioxide and methane, strengthening the greenhouse effect.
One of 13 viruses described in a new study that is presently in publication, with nine of them considered to be tens of thousands of years old, includes the 48,500-year-old amoeba virus. Each one’s genome was determined to be unique from all other known viruses by the researchers.
While the record-breaking virus was discovered beneath a lake, other extraction sites contained Siberian wolf guts, mammoth wool, and other permafrost-buried materials. The team demonstrated that the viruses still had the potential to be contagious pathogens using live single-cell amoeba cultures.
As the world warms, enormous amounts of bacteria are also being released into the environment, though one could argue that with the availability of medicines, they pose less of a concern.
In particular, as the Arctic region gets more populated, a novel virus, such as SARS-CoV-2, might be far more harmful to public health.
According to the researchers, “the situation would be considerably more devastating in the case of plant, animal, or human diseases caused by the resurgence of an ancient undiscovered virus.”
As a result, it is reasonable to consider the possibility that old permafrost layers could thaw and release infectious virus particles into the environment.
With a prior paper describing the discovery of a 30,000-year-old virus, this team has a reputation for diligently searching for viruses in Siberia. That was a pandoravirus, too, a behemoth huge enough to be seen under a light microscope, much like the new record holder.
The revived virus has been given the name Pandoravirus yedoma, which acknowledges its size and the type of permafrost soil that it was found in. The researchers think there are many more viruses to find too, beyond those that only target amoebas.
Many of the viruses that will be released as the ice thaws will be completely unknown to us – although it remains to be seen how infectious these viruses will be once they’re exposed to the light, heat and oxygen of the outdoor environment. These are all areas that could be investigated in future studies.
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Fahima Akter
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE