MSGID: 1:317/3 647eb69f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Viruses hidden in coral symbiont's genetic material are a potential   
   threat to reefs    
      
     Date:   
         June 5, 2023   
     Source:   
         Oregon State University   
     Summary:   
         Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common   
         and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common and   
   possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material, an international   
   collaboration spearheaded by an Oregon State University researcher   
   has found.   
      
   The study, co-led by researchers in the OSU College of Science, sheds   
   new light on the threats faced by coral reefs, particularly as the   
   climate changes.   
      
   Findings were published in Communications Biology.   
      
   Researchers probed the genomes of corals' resident algae from samples   
   collected during the 2016-18 Tara Pacific Expedition, a 100,000-kilometer   
   scientific voyage that included more than 2,600 dives to study corals.   
      
   Corals are made up of interconnected animal hosts called polyps that   
   house microscopic algae inside their cells. The coral-algal symbiosis,   
   or partnership, is the foundation of the entire coral reef ecosystem;   
   the polyps receive food from the algae, and the polyps in turn provide   
   nutrients and protection to the algae.   
      
   Coral reefs are found in less than 1% of the ocean but are home to   
   nearly one- quarter of all known marine species. They also help regulate   
   the sea's carbon dioxide levels and are a crucial hunting ground that   
   scientists use in the search for new medicines.   
      
   Climate change is threatening the reefs in part because the symbiotic   
   algae, dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae, can be stressed   
   by warming oceans to the point of dysbiosis -- a collapse of the   
   host-symbiont partnership, which results in a phenomenon known as coral   
   bleaching.   
      
   Likewise, viral infection can threaten these algae and the stability of   
   the symbiosis, said Kalia Bistolas, a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon   
   State. Now scientists have one explanation for how these interactions   
   might work.   
      
   "We found a very common RNA virus hidden within the genomes of coral   
   symbionts," said Bistolas, who co-led the study with OSU microbiology   
   researcher Rebecca Vega Thurber and Alex Veglia of Rice University.   
      
   What they discovered is a non-retroviral dinoflagellate-infecting +ssRNA   
   virus referred to as dinoRNAV. Unlike retroviruses, non-retroviruses   
   typically do not embed in a host's genome.   
      
   Nearly all organisms carry remnants of past viral infections within   
   their genomes, Bistolas said. Those remnants, known as endogenous viral   
   elements, are like a historical record of the viruses encountered,   
   and they can be passed from generation to generation.   
      
   "They are also like stealthy parasites," she said. "Sometimes, when   
   an organism is stressed, the viral genetic material can jump out of   
   an organism's genome and turn on its host. Finding a widespread RNA   
   virus in an algal coral symbiont illustrates the need to categorize   
   these hidden viruses in threatened ecosystems and also demonstrates one   
   pathway through which changing environmental stressors -- for example,   
   climate change -- could cause disease in corals."  The Tara Ocean   
   Foundation and the National Science Foundation supported this research,   
   which also included scientists from the University of Maine and multiple   
   international universities and laboratories.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Virology # Marine_Biology # Microbes_and_More #   
                   Ecology_Research   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Ecology # Coral_Reefs # Global_Warming #   
                   Environmental_Awareness   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Virus o Vector_(biology) o Coral_reef o Coral o Pandemic o   
             Seaweed o Common_Seal o Epstein-Barr_virus   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Oregon_State_University. Original   
   written by Steve Lundeberg. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Alex J. Veglia, Kalia S. I. Bistolas, Christian R. Voolstra,   
      Benjamin C.   
      
         C. Hume, Hans-Joachim Ruscheweyh, Serge Planes, Denis Allemand,   
         Emilie Boissin, Patrick Wincker, Julie Poulain, Cle'mentine Moulin,   
         Guillaume Bourdin, Guillaume Iwankow, Sarah Romac, Sylvain Agostini,   
         Bernard Banaigs, Emmanuel Boss, Chris Bowler, Colomban de Vargas,   
         Eric Douville, Michel Flores, Didier Forcioli, Paola Furla,   
         Pierre E. Galand, Eric Gilson, Fabien Lombard, Ste'phane Pesant,   
         Ste'phanie Reynaud, Shinichi Sunagawa, Olivier P. Thomas, Romain   
         Trouble', Didier Zoccola, Adrienne M.   
      
         S. Correa, Rebecca L. Vega Thurber. Endogenous viral elements reveal   
         associations between a non-retroviral RNA virus and symbiotic   
         dinoflagellate genomes. Communications Biology, 2023; 6 (1) DOI:   
         10.1038/ s42003-023-04917-9   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230605181350.htm   
      
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