January 24, 2017.
According to a study carried out by a team of researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, viruses manage to communicate with each other. A discovery to say the least unusual.
Viruses find out about the presence of bacteria
Viruses communicate. They “discuss” among themselves whether or not to attack a bacteria. This is in any case what reveals a study published in the journal Nature. According to this work, “ viruses detect chemical signals left by their peers in order to be able to decide to kill or infect their hosts “. The researchers had already identified the same phenomenon in bacteria.
Certain bacteria are indeed able to alert their congeners to the presence of viruses, in particular phages, which use bacteria to reproduce. For this, the virus infects the bacteria and multiplies so much that the bacteria eventually dies. When a bacterium is in the presence of these phages, it warns other bacteria of the danger to come.r. But viruses among themselves also learn about the presence of these bacteria.
Will we soon be able to prevent viral attacks?
Viruses want to attack bacteria, but not all, so they can continue to reproduce. To communicate, they use a protein called arbitrium by the authors of the study. When arbitrium levels are high, that’s the signal, viruses stop infecting bacteria.
Although the results of this study will need to be clarified, this is a great discovery, it is indeed the first time that a communication is surprised between viruses. If the viruses responsible for human diseases also communicated with each other, this could open up interesting avenues for research. ” Scientists may have discovered a new way to prevent viral attacks », Notes the review Nature.
To find out more: Microbes, viruses, bacteria … What are the differences?
