Virovore | 04 Jan 2023

Researchers have found the first known "Virovore," or organism that eats viruses.

The new findings may change our understanding of the role viruses play in the food chain at a microscopic level.

It has been identified as an actual species of protist that feasts on viruses.
These virus-eating species of protists — which are their own kingdom on the tree of life and are not an animal, plant, or fungi — are now classified as Virovores.
It is a species of Halteria - microscopic ciliates that populate freshwater worldwide.
- The microbe Halteria is a common genus of protist known to flit about as its hair-like cilia propel it through the water.
They're made up of nucleic acids, nitrogen, and phosphorus. It can eat huge numbers of infectious chloroviruses that share their aquatic habitat.
- Chloroviruses are known to infect microscopic green algae.
These organisms can sustain themselves with viruses, consuming many and growing in size.
A virus-only diet, termed "virovory," is enough to fuel the physiological growth and even population growth of an organism.