Mr.Scienceindia

Ancient creatures are emerging from the cold storage of melting permafrost, almost like something out of a horror movie. From incredibly preserved extinct megafauna like the woolly rhino, to the 40,000-year-old remains of a giant wolf, and bacteria over 750,000 years old. "These are viruses that would have thrived in extreme environments," said Ohio State University microbiologist Matthew Sullivan, with "signatures of genes that help them infect cells in cold environments – just surreal genetic signatures for how a virus is able to survive in extreme conditions." Comparing their genetic sequences to a database from known viruses, the team found the most abundant viruses in both ice core samples were bacteriophages that infect Methylobacterium – bacteria important to the methane cycle within ice. They were most related to viruses found in Methylobacterium strains in plant and soil habitats – consistent with a previous report that t...