As humans alter the planet’s climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth’s history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature’s freezers, archiving detailed records of past climates and ecosystems – including viruses.
By linking the genomes of ancient viral communities to specific climate conditions preserved in glacier ice, our newly published research offers insights into how these viruses have adapted to Earth’s shifting climate over the past 41,000 years.
As humans alter the planet’s climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth’s history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature’s freezers, archiving detailed records of past climates and ecosystems – including viruses.
By linking the genomes of ancient viral communities to specific climate conditions preserved in glacier ice, our newly published research offers insights into how these viruses have adapted to Earth’s shifting climate over the past 41,000 years.
The ice cores that preserve Earth’s history are themselves disappearing.
Reading history in viral genes
We primarily used metagenomes – collections of genomes that capture the total genetic content of all microorganisms present in environmental samples – to reconstruct viral genomes from nine distinct time intervals within the Guliya ice core. These time horizons span three major cold-to-warm cycles, providing a unique opportunity to observe how viral communities have changed in response to different climatic conditions.
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