5,500 new RNA virus species have been discovered in the ocean

While humans have yet to investigate more than 80% of the world’s seas, a new discovery is shedding light on what lies under the waves: over 5,500 new viral species.

The study, which was published on Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science, discovered so many distinct forms of RNA viruses that the researchers have proposed five new taxa, or divisions, of RNA viruses, as well as uncovered a connection to an ancient virus.

“We were quite surprised actually,” Matthew Sullivan, professor of microbiology at Ohio State University and lead author of the study, said in an email to USA TODAY. “It was very exciting to find from every angle we looked that we had added likely at least five phyla to the five known phyla for RNA viruses!”

According to a 2012 study conducted by the National Institute of Health, there are millions of viruses on the globe, hundreds of which are capable of infecting people.

In July, scientists uncovered around 30 ancient viruses that had never been seen before.

However, viruses are classified into two types: DNA and RNA.

While we are aware of RNA viruses such as COVID-19, West Nile Virus, and the flu, little is known about them since the only ones examined are those that are hazardous to humans, animals, or plants, according to Sullivan.

For this investigation, researchers aimed to explore their diversity rather than their influence.

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