For the first time, scientists have observed what they call a “vampire virus,” or a pathogen that uses other viruses in order to replicate more of itself.
To be clear, this is not about a virus that turns you sparkly and puts you in a teen romance.
The vampire virus has been discussed in theory for decades, with researchers aware of certain viruses that prey on others instead of self-replicating.
However, the theory became a reality when a team of researchers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County watched the process under a microscope. The results of their findings have since been published, according to Physics.org.
The scientists watched a strain of bacteriophage latch onto a soil-borne virus’s “neck” in order to begin its duplication process.
The scene was so surprising that biologist and lead author Tagide deCarvalho was left in shock.
“When I saw it, I was like, ‘I can’t believe this,” deCarvalho said. “No one has ever seen a bacteriophage – or any other virus– attach to another virus.”
The relationship between the vampire virus and its victim virus is called a satellite and helper. The satellite is the infectious strand that relies on the helper to support it through its life cycle.
Researchers continued their observations of the bacteriophage, which they noted typically has a gene for integration and does not directly attach to its helper.
However, the satellite in the UMBC sample is the first known case of a satellite with no gene for integration. This earned it the name MiniFlyer from the students who isolated it.
If the MiniFlyer is going to survive when entering a host cell, it has to integrate into a nearby helper, being that it can’t integrate into a host cell’s DNA without the integration gene.
The observations may seem insignificant to the average person. But, scientists suggest that the discovery and observations of the vampire virus could lead to new antiviral therapies, helping combat illnesses like never done before.