The silent savior of the ocean

Italian oceanographers claim that the ocean floor virus makes so-called "carbon cycles" to sustain the lives of marine organisms and slow global warming.

In the carbon cycle, sea surface microalgae absorb carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) from the atmosphere. These tiny creatures are called prokaryotes.

Many prokaryotes are infected with naturally occurring viruses. When they die, parts of their carbon-rich bodies decompose, sinking into the seabed and becoming food for bacteria. Thus, prokaryotes become part of the ocean food chain.

Scientists have long argued that viruses on the ocean surface play a dual role: both destroying plants and maintaining their existence.

However, new evidence suggests that tiny bacteria also contribute to the creation of an undiscovered giant ecosystem on the ocean floor - a dark, dangerous and poor place for nutrients.

An ocean specialist group of Marche Polytechnic University (Italy) collects and screens many sediment samples from several ocean floor locations around the world, from depths of 183 m to 4,603 m.

"The results surprised us. At a depth of more than 1,000 m, prokaryotes account for 90% of the total plant population. The interaction between the virus and prokaryote on the ocean floor is very strong. This interaction helps "The bottom ecology exists independently without the need for nutrients from the surface of the water. It's the kind of self-sustaining mechanism , " said Dr. Roberto Danovaro, lead researcher.

According to Dr. Roberto, humans are one of the subjects benefiting from this body, because the bottom sea nutrients feed seafood.

Another question: What role does the virus play in the warming of the Earth's climate?

Each year the oceans absorb billions of tons of CO2 from the air. Therefore, it can be said that they act as a buffer for greenhouse gases that people emit. After the microalgae die, the amount of carbon in their bodies will be absorbed by the plants of the ocean floor, so that the carbon cannot return to the ocean surface or the atmosphere.

According to research results by Roberto and colleagues, the virus is the most abundant form of life in the oceans. Each year they "annex" about 630 million tons of carbon worldwide.