Scientists find virus that protects its host, depending on the weather
Recommended for Secondary Grades
Virus
What is a virus?
A virus is a tiny living thing which can be seen only with a special instrument (microscope). It causes disease in people, animals and plants.
Viruses need a host (another living thing) to exist and multiply. COVID-19 is caused by a virus.
In an interesting discovery, scientists have found a virus that could actually benefit its host during times of crisis, This virus, called the turnip mosaic virus, usually harms plants from the cabbage family, such as broccoli and cauliflower.
Scientists found that during periods of drought (periods with no water), a variant (type) of the virus helps the plant lose less water. However, all this depends on the weather. Under normal conditions, the virus kills the plant.
In their experiment, scientists found that variants that evolved under drought-like conditions did not kill their hosts. This is even when their hosts continued to be well watered.
Other studies
Other studies have also shown that several mosaic viruses seemed to improve plant tolerance to environmental stress (like drought). This could be because helping the host survive will help the virus live too.
Today, as we face global warming and droughts are becoming more frequent, this knowledge could help us.
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