For the time being, 90% of its genes are of unknown origin according to scientists, but it does not represent any danger for humans.
Its name is that of a mermaid and it also lives in water: the Yaravirus was recently discovered in an artificial lake, in the region of Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Most of its genes are unknown to scientists. The work that led to its discovery is published in the journal bioRxiv.
Unknown genes
The Brazilian researcher, Jônatas Abrahão, specialized in virology, was tracking giant pathogens, also called amoeba viruses, in an artificial lake when he discovered the Yaravirus. Together with his colleagues, they were first surprised by his small size, then the sequencing of his genome highlighted its true specificity: most of its genes are unknown. In total, Yaravirus has 74 genes but only 6 of them are referenced. Its genetic heritage would be close to the giant viruses, but the researchers did not manage to understand the origin of this proximity between the two. In total, more than 8,500 genomes have been compared to that of Yaravirus, but none are linked to it. One thing is certain: this new virus is not dangerous for humans.
Several hundred new viruses discovered
On the specialized site Sciencemag, another scientific team says it has discovered nearly 600 previously unknown viruses. This could allow researchers to begin to update the links that unite some of them. For Jônatas Abrahão, it is a “important tool to learn more about the genomes of hundreds or even thousands of viruses”.
The research team had already discovered a new type of virus in 2018: Tupanvirus deep ocean and Tupanvirus soda lake. These are giant viruses, their size is 20 times greater than that of HIV, and have a number of DNA pairs well above the average, about one and a half million. Like Yaravirus, these two pathogens are harmless to humans.
