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Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
Published on: November 5, 2014
Viromes in marine ecosystems reveal remarkable invertebrate RNA virus diversity
Yu-Yi Zhang1,2, Yicong Chen1, Xiaoman Wei1,2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology & Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Abstract:
Little is known about ocean viromes and the ecological drivers of the evolution of aquatic RNA viruses. This study employed a meta-transcriptomic approach to characterize the viromes of 58 marine invertebrate species across three seas. This revealed the presence of 315 newly identified RNA viruses in nine viral families or orders (Durnavirales, Totiviridae, Bunyavirales, Hantaviridae, Picornavirales, Flaviviridae, Hepelivirales, Solemoviridae, and Tombusviridae), with most of them being sufficiently divergent to the already documented viruses. Notably, this study revealed three marine invertebrate hantaviruses that are rooted to vertebrate hantaviruses, further supporting that hantaviruses may have a marine origin. We have also found evidence for possible host sharing and switch events during virus evolution. Overall, we have revealed the hidden diversity of marine invertebrate RNA viruses.
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