A group of researchers at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France has initiated the discovery that even some viruses can have viruses.
A tiny virus, called ‘Sputnik’, is the first virus ever discovered that is a parasite of another virus.
As livescience.com points out, when it reproduces in a cell infected by the larger virus, its action impairs the reproduction of mamavirus particles. The group sequenced Sputnik’s genetic code and discovered that a number of its gene sequences are similar to those found in a massive survey of genetic material taken from oceans all over the globe. This suggests that a whole class of viruses might exist that infect other viruses!
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