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AI scans RNA ‘dark matter’ and uncovers 70,000 new viruses

Many are bizarre and live in salt lakes, hydrothermal vents and other extreme environments.
By
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
Observation of the basaltic organs of the Panarea volcanic island in the Aeolian islands archipelago, Mediterranean Sea.

Some of the newly discovered viruses live in hydrothermal vents and other extreme environments. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty

Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover 70,500 viruses previously unknown to science1, many of them weird and nothing like known species. The RNA viruses were identified using metagenomics, in which scientists sample all the genomes present in the environment without having to culture individual viruses. The method shows the potential of AI to explore the ‘dark matter’ of the RNA virus universe.

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Nature 634, 765-766 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03320-6

References

  1. Hou, X. et al. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.09.027 (2024).

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  2. Edgar, R. C. et al. Nature 602, 142–147 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Zayed, A. A. et al. Science 376,156–162 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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