Chinese researchers have revealed a wide diversity of viral groups in Pacific Ocean seabed sediments, after identifying 11,742 viral groups in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, providing new scientific data to understand deep-sea ecosystems before expanding mining activities.
The Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post reported in an article published the day before yesterday that a study prepared by researchers from Chongqing University, in collaboration with a researcher from the Second Institute of Oceanography in China, and published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, showed that more than 99 percent of the discovered viral groups were not represented in the reference databases used.
The researchers relied on analyzing samples of seabed sediments collected during 2023 and 2024, using genetic sequencing and computational analysis techniques to detect viral diversity and their potential characteristics. The analyses showed that the discovered viruses are linked to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea, which play important roles in chemical element cycles, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, within marine sediments.
The study also revealed genes that may help some viruses and their host organisms adapt to the metal-rich and nutrient-poor environment, although determining the actual functions of these genes requires further experimental testing. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is located between Mexico and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and extends in some parts to depths approaching six thousand meters, containing polymetallic nodules that include elements such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese, which are attracting increasing interest for use in technical industries and battery manufacturing.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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