According to today's Russian report on February 10, scientists have discovered a mysterious, brand-new virus in Brazil. 90% of the virus's genetic composition cannot be identified. The genetic information has never been recorded before.
The virus, named Yaravirus brasiliensis, is derived from the water god Yara in Brazilian mythology and was found on Lake Pampria in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
↑ 90% of the genetic composition of the new virus is unrecognizable. Map according to Russia today
"Contrary to what has been observed with other isolated amebaviruses, Yaravirus is not represented by a large particle and a complex genome, but carries a large number of previously undescribed genes," researchers at The paper was published in a preprint server platform bioRxiv.
According to researchers, the Yarra virus belongs to the "new lineage of amoebia virus" that was first discovered and is a "new amoeba virus of confusing origin and phylogeny". The virus consists of 80 nanometer-sized particles and its genome is very unique.
In fact, by searching the viral gene database and literature, the researchers found that out of the 8,500 virion genomes, only 6 were related to the Yarra virus. The other 90% of the genes were never described and could not be identified at all. So-called orphan genes (ORFans).
This mysterious amoeba virus has a nearly complete orphan genome and no doubt challenges the classification of DNA viruses. Lead authors of the study, Bernard La Scola, a virologist at the University of Marseille, France, and Jnatas S. Abraho, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, said that no recognizable sequences or other typical viral genes could be found in the Yarra virus. Because of the metagenomics approach to virus detection, Yarra virus will not even be recognized as a viral factor.
