Michigan: Researchers from the University of Michigan have concluded that bacteria that live near hostile hydrothermal vents on the floor of the ocean face the challenge of infection by viruses.

The virus can take over the molecular machinery of the bacteria for its own reproduction. The bacteria coexist with the lethal fumes of sulphurous water at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The water pressure at that level is also remarkably high.

Over 6,000 samples were collected by the microbiologists from the western Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California. An unmanned submarine from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was used to collect the samples.

The scientists found that the common sulphur consuming bacteria from the ocean bed - SUP05 had five predatory viruses accompanying it. While viruses have been commonly known to prey on marine bacteria but this was the first instance of them being found in chemosynthetic organisms which thrive on mineral compounds instead of light.

Karthic Anantharaman, one of the authors of the study stated that the viruses inserted auxiliary metabolic sequence into bacteria and speeding and multiplying their reproduction. The phenomenon of viruses and bacteria swapping genetic material is called lateral gene transfer.

Due to the importance of the bacteria for managing the global bio-geochemistry as they are important in cycling of sulphur, it is important to understand their reaction to the attack of predatory viruses. More so because the SUP05 may be beneficial to the global climate change as it produces greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.