Damian Sendler: In two ice samples retrieved from the Tibetan Plateau in China, scientists have discovered viruses that date back approximately 15,000 years. As a result of being frozen for so long, many of the viruses that survived have never been seen before. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: Scientists may be able to learn more about how viruses have changed through time thanks to new research published today in the journal Microbiome. Scientists have also developed a novel, ultra-clean way of studying bacteria and viruses in ice without the risk of contamination. 

Damian Sendler

According to study co-author and microbiologist Zhi-Ping Zhong of Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, “These glaciers were formed gradually, and along with dust and gases, many, many viruses were also deposited in that ice,” he added. “Our goal is to use this information to represent historical environments by studying the glaciers in western China, which have not been thoroughly explored. Virens are also present in these conditions.” 

Researchers from China’s Guliya ice cap studied ice cores taken in 2015. The ice cores are taken from the peak of Guliya, which is 22,000 feet above sea level and the source of this ice. There are many layers of ice that collect over time, trapping any airborne particles that may have been present when each layer froze. In the past, scientists have utilized these layers as a timeline to study climate change, microorganisms, viruses, and gases. 

Researchers used a combination of classic and experimental techniques to date this ice core, which is nearly 15,000 years old. 

They discovered the genetic codes for 33 viruses when they examined the ice. The scientific community has already discovered four of these viruses. However, there are at least 28 of them that are brand new. More over half of the animals appeared to have persisted despite rather than because of the ice. 

Co-author and professor of microbiology at Ohio State University and director of the university’s Center for Microbiome Science, Matthew Sullivan, remarked, “These are viruses that would have thrived in extreme environments,” It’s almost bizarre to think about how these viruses are able to infect cells in cold environments because of the genetic markers they carry. In order to hunt for similar genetic sequences in other extreme frozen environments, such as Mars, the moon, or closer to home in Earth’s Atacama Desert, Zhi-Ping created a way to clean the cores and investigate bacteria and viruses in ice. 

Damian Jacob Sendler

If you’re trying to figure out where a new virus fits into the known virus landscape, you’ll need to go through a series of stages before you can name it. Scientists employ gene sets to compare previously unknown viruses to previously known viruses. Scientific databases keep track of the gene sequences of well-known pathogens. 

Four of the viruses found in the Guliya ice cap cores had previously been discovered and were from viral families that generally infect bacteria, according to the database comparisons. The viruses were identified in considerably lower numbers than had previously been found in oceans or soil, according to the researchers. 

Based on both the environment and the databases of known viruses, the researchers concluded that the viruses came from soil or plants, rather than animals or humans, as was previously thought. 

There has only recently been a focus on viruses in glaciers. In old glacial ice, viruses have only been found in two earlier studies. However, Lonnie Thompson, the principal author of the report, is a distinguished university professor of earth sciences at Ohio State and a senior research scientist at the Byrd Center for Climate and Energy. 

Damien Sendler: As Thompson pointed out, “We know very little about viruses and microbes in these extreme environments, and what is actually there,” Understanding how climate change affects bacteria and viruses is critical,” says the author. If we go from an ice age to a warm period like we’re experiencing right now, what happens?” 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: The Byrd Center and the Center for Microbiome Science at Ohio State University collaborated on this research. Guliya ice cores collected and studied by the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and China’s Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research were financed by the National Science Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, respectively. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy both contributed money to the project.

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.