HKCST team reveals the mechanism by which blue-green algae are killed by the virus

Xin
-- A team of researchers at the University of Science and Technology has revealed the mechanism by which the environmentally friendly bacteria cyanobacteria are killed by a virus called algae, a new discovery that promises to boost the ability of blue-green algae to absorb carbon dioxide and help slow global warming in the future.
, according to researchers at the University of California, blue-green algae are photochemically used in the oceans to provide oxygen to marine life, and more than 20 percent of the Earth's carbon dioxide is absorbed by blue-green algae. However, nearly half of the world's blue-green algae die every day from food or viral infections, with the algal virus killing about one-fifth of the world's blue-green algae every day.
led by Zeng Qingxuan, an associate professor in the Department of Marine Science at the University of California, Shanghai, spent five years studying algal phages cultivated in the laboratory. It was found that the energy produced by blue-green algae through photochemic use became the fuel for algae infection, allowing the algae to complete all the infection processes enough to destroy the structure of blue-green algae cells during the day, causing the blue-green algae to fall apart at night. This is the first time scientists have found that the virus has circadian rhythms.
Zeng says understanding how day and night cycles can control the infection process of phage algae can help slow global warming by reducing the risk of blue-green algae being infected and increasing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Said that many human diseases are caused by viruses, and now it has been found that viral infections are affected by physiological rhythms and circadian circulation, which I believe could bring new revelations to the study of drugs to combat human viruses.
study was published in the scientific journal
National Academy of Sciences.