Хятадын Чунчин их сургуулийн судлаачид далайн гүний тунадаснаас олон мянган шинэ вирус олж илрүүлсэн нь далайн экосистемийн судалгаанд чухал ач холбогдолтой нээлт боллоо.
Хятадын Далайн эрдэс баялгийн судалгаа, хөгжлийн нийгэмлэгээс цуглуулсан тунадасны 60 гаруй дээжид хийсэн шинжилгээгээр Хавай болон Мексикийн хооронд орших Кларион-Клиппертоны бүсээс 11,742 төрлийн вирус илрүүлжээ. Эдгээр вирусийн 99 хувь буюу 11,662 нь шинжлэх ухаанд урьд өмнө бүртгэгдээгүй байсан бөгөөд генетикийн шинжилгээгээр тэдгээр нь одоогийн дэлхийн мэдээллийн сан дахь вирусийн бүлгүүдтэй ердөө 4 хувийн л ижил төстэй байдалтай байгаа нь тогтоогдсон байна.
Судлаачдын тэмдэглэснээр, эдгээр вирус нь хүнд халдварлах аюулгүй бөгөөд ихэнх нь бактерифаг буюу далайн тунадас дахь бактериар хооллодог Caudoviricetes ангилалд хамаардаг аж. Эдгээр бичил биетүүд нь нүүрстөрөгч, азот, фосфор, хүхэр болон металлын эргэлтэд оролцож, шим тэжээлийг дахин боловсруулах, бактерийн популяцыг зохицуулах замаар далайн гүний экосистемийн тэнцвэрийг хадгалахад чухал үүрэг гүйцэтгэдэг.
Кларион-Клиппертоны бүс нь цахилгаан автомашины батарей үйлдвэрлэхэд ашиглагддаг марганец, никель, кобальтаар баялаг тул уул уурхайн үйл ажиллагаа явуулах сонирхол ихтэй газар юм. Олон улсын далайн ёроолын газраас тус бүсэд 17 хайгуулын тусгай зөвшөөрөл олгосон хэдий ч уул уурхайн машин техник нь тунадасыг үймүүлж, бичил биетүүдийн амьдрах орчин болон тэдгээртэй холбоотой вирусийн харилцан үйлчлэлд хэрхэн нөлөөлөх нь тодорхойгүй байна.
Энэхүү судалгаа нь уул уурхайн үйл ажиллагаа эхлэхээс өмнөх экосистемийн суурь нөхцөл байдлыг тодорхойлж, ирээдүйн байгаль орчны үнэлгээ хийхэд чухал баримт болж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Scientists have found nearly 12,000 viruses in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, they were found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast stretch of ocean floor between Hawaii and Mexico. Located at depths of up to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), the region is covered with millions of potato-sized rocks containing manganese, nickel, and cobalt. These metals are particularly sought after for electric vehicle batteries.
But there’s much more hiding beneath the ocean than mineral deposits. Researchers from Chongqing University in China have uncovered a huge variety of viruses living in the seabed sediments. Their findings offer a closer look at an ecosystem that remains largely unexplored, even as interest in mining the area continues to grow.
Thousands Of Unknown Viruses Discovered
The research team examined more than 60 sediment samples collected from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone by the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association. Their analysis revealed 11,742 distinct viruses, including 11,662 that had never been documented before.
The genetic comparisons revealed another striking detail. Only 4% of the viral protein clusters matched those in existing global databases, showing just how different these communities are from previously studied viruses.
“Protein-sharing network and phylogenetic analyses showed extensive benthic viral diversity, with over 99 percent of viral clusters not represented in current reference databases,” the Chongqing University researchers said, as quoted by Interesting Engineering.
The deep ocean floor receives very few nutrients and contains high concentrations of heavy metals, making it a difficult place for many organisms to survive. Yet the samples revealed a remarkably diverse collection of viruses living alongside microorganisms adapted to these conditions.
Why Deep-sea Viruses Matter?
Finding thousands of unknown viruses might sound worrying, but they pose little to no threat to human health. Most belong to Caudoviricetes, a class that includes viruses known as bacteriophages. Instead of infecting humans, these viruses target bacteria living in the ocean sediments.
The study found that these viruses interact with microorganisms involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals. Some viruses break down bacterial cells, releasing nutrients back into the surrounding sediments. Others carry special genes that influence how infected microbes function and survive in their environment.
These auxiliary metabolic genes can affect microbial activity, while viral gene exchange helps certain microorganisms adapt to the toxic metals found on the ocean floor. It’s a complex network of interactions taking place thousands of meters beneath the surface, where sunlight never reaches. These viruses are part of the processes that recycle nutrients and regulate microbial populations across the mineral-rich seabed.
What Happens When Mining Reaches The Seafloor?
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone has become a major target for companies interested in extracting metals used in electric vehicle batteries. The International Seabed Authority has granted 17 exploration licenses in the region, including five held by China. But collecting those metal-rich nodules would mean bringing heavy industrial equipment onto the ocean floor.
Mining machines could disturb large areas of sediment, creating plumes of particles that affect microorganisms living nearby. And because many deep-sea viruses depend on bacteria to survive and reproduce, damage to those bacterial communities could also affect the viruses connected to them. That disruption could interfere with nutrient recycling and other biological processes taking place within the sediments.
The researchers have not established exactly how commercial mining would affect these viral communities. Their work does provide a baseline for future environmental assessments, allowing scientists to compare the ecosystem before and after potential disturbances.
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