HE melting of the poles Will be released as a result of climate change Every year there are as many microbes in the environment as there are stars in the universe.. Specifically, estimates suggest that when thaw occurs in the coldest regions such as the Arctic or Antarctica, four sextillion (4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) tiny prehistoric microorganisms trapped in these regions will be released each year.
Following this prediction, a group of researchers wanted to know: What would be the risk of any of these causing serious damage, especially pathogens? in modern ecosystems. The study was published on: PLOS Computational Biology, conducted several simulations to see the risk posed by the release of pathogens.
In 1% of simulations where a single inactive pathogen was released, there was sufficient potential to cause severe environmental damage, or even cause major destruction. High mortality among organisms that he decided to take as host.
To perform this work, software called Avida was used to run experiments simulating the release of an ancient type of pathogen into the world today, said ecologist Corey Bradshaw from the ARC Australian Center of Excellence for Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). and the principal investigator of this article, Speech.
Bradshaw explained that after performing this study, the researchers “measured the effects of the invading pathogen on the bacterial diversity that currently serves as the reservoir, and compared this to simulations where there was no invasion.” Pathogens that have reached modern ecosystems have survived and thrived without problems. on this ‘new’ planet.
Losses up to 30%
Became dominant in the environment in 3% of cases. In this context, as Bradshaw insists, it is “very likely to cause loss of biodiversity” in the organisms it can infect. In the worst cases, the researchers found that pathogenic microorganisms were incorporated into the existing biodiversity.Reduced host community by up to 30%”.
“This may seem like a small risk,” says the researcher, but as he cautions, “these results only reveal the entry of a pathogen into these environments.” “With so many ancient germs spreading into the real world, such epidemics pose a significant danger“, To explain.
Until now, the threat of an ancient pathogen ‘dormant’ in ice thousands of years later seemed plausible. “It was just a science fiction threat,” he states.
And while a pathogen is unlikely to be reborn in the ice, causing catastrophic extinctions, “Our results show that this is no longer a fantasy.”
While the research team was incapable of calculating the risk this would pose to humans, scientists believe it’s a simple fact.The ability of a pathogen to “time travel”, establish itself and disrupt the host community “is already worrying”.
Reminding that SARS-CoV-2, Ebola or HIV “probably” transmitted to humans through an animal, the researcher emphasizes that “As a society, we need to understand the potential risks and prepare for them”.
“It’s plausible that a virus that once stuck to the ice could enter the human population by a zoonotic route,” he insists.
Reference article: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011268
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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
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