Before this study was conducted, our scientists only knew about 15,000 viruses in our planet. Who would have thought, that there'd be more ... many more.
In a recent investigation, researchers have identified 195,728 viruses under water and were able to classify them into five different ecological groups.
Despite the large number of viruses discovered, and the vast complexity of the world's ocean regions, the team of researchers was able to split the viruses into five distinct ecological zones – all depths of the Arctic and the Antarctic, and three distinct depths of the Temperate and Tropical regions.
In the future, I’m not gonna be surprised if my grandchildren need to study the "World Map of Viruses" in their biology class.
(Image Credit: A. Deniaud Garcia/ Fondation Tara Ocean)