Researchers from the University of Maryland have found several “Vampire Viruses” for the first time on the American soil. Researchers have shown that these viruses proliferate by sending microscopic organisms to grab onto the necks of other viruses and disseminate to cells.
Recently, the vampire virus was found in a soil sample that was taken close to Poolesville, Maryland. In a press release, Tagide DeCarvalho, assistant director of the Baltimore County College of Natural Mathematical Sciences, stated: “When I saw it, I was like, ‘I can’t believe this. No one has ever seen a bacteriophage —or any other virus— attach to another virus.”
According to scientists, the phenomena of viruses cooperating to create a protective shell or copy their own DNA is not a recent development.
The virus, which Dr. DeCarvalho named MiniFlayer, binds itself to the other helper, called MindFlayer, at the location where the capsid joins the tail. Hence the nickname, MiniFlayer always aims for the neck.
According to the team, MiniFlayer has the ability to make the host virus inactive. The disease can eradicate illnesses that kill cattle and crops, but it can also destroy beneficial viruses that are necessary to maintain the strength and health of the soil.
To learn more about how MiniFlayer and MindFlayer differ from other viruses, the scientists claim to be analysing the genomes of these viruses as well as the infected host cells. The doctors also described how the virus’s ability to infiltrate a cell is intrinsically linked to its MindFlayer.
These viruses’ potential to cause certain illnesses is currently being researched as well. Previous studies have connected other vampire viruses to fatal illness outbreaks, such as hemorrhagic fever, which can result in convulsions and bleeding from the skin, organs, and mucous membranes. 90% of people who contract the virus die.
