Did viruses precede other life?

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In summary, a recent study on ancient viruses suggests that viruses share a common ancestor with cellular life forms and may have preceded them by over 3 billion years. The study found that coat proteins in all types of viruses have structural similarities despite their genetic differences. This suggests that viruses evolved from cells that became more efficient at their processes and eventually shed most of their cellular functions.
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Structural studies on ancient virus reveal clues about the evolution of life on Earth | By Cathy Holding



Viruses share a common ancestor that existed over 3 billion years ago and may even have preceded cellular forms of life, according to a report in the May 3 PNAS by George Rice and colleagues at Montana State University.

Based on a comparison of known virus types and an icosahedral virus isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, the team found that coat proteins in all viral types that inhabit the three domains of life—Eukarya, Bacteria, and Archaea—have conformational similarities even though the genetics underlying them is quite different.

Nearly all of the Yellowstone virus' 36 predicted open reading frame products showed no significant similarity to proteins in public databases, and so basic structural and assembly principles in this virus were compared instead, revealing an “astounding” similarity with all virus types, according to the authors.

“This suggests that this type of coat protein arrangement preceded the split of the three domains of life over 3 billion years ago,” Mark A. Young, the team's leader and coauthor of the paper, told The Scientist.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20040506/01 [Broken]
 
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Viruses

How would they reproduce without a working cell to invade? My guess is that cells came before viruses and viruses are actually descended from cells that became more and more efficient at their processes until they shed most cellular function relying on their prey to reproduce for them.
 
  • #3
Yeah, I agree with mee.

Viruses need organisms to live off of. Therefor viruses couldn't have existed before other life.
 
  • #4
Technically the viruses do not need an organism to live rather a molecular machinery is need to be provided. The first cell had the same challenge than the viruses, they require some kind of machinery to replicated their protein and genetic code. You have to wonder were the machinery came from. The cellular orgnization was not as it is nowadays, it was probably a loose and choatic system. Therefore some DNA particle could "borrow" the machinery of the loose entities, replicated and spread. These loose DNA particles then probalby evolve intoviruses and adapted to more organize and stringent entities which probably ressemble cell found nowadays.
 

1. Did viruses evolve before other forms of life?

The exact origin of viruses is still a topic of debate among scientists. Some evidence suggests that viruses may have evolved before other forms of life, while others believe they evolved alongside or after other forms of life. More research is needed to definitively answer this question.

2. How did viruses originate?

There is no definitive answer to how viruses originated. Some theories suggest that they may have evolved from genetic elements that gained the ability to move between cells. Others propose that they may have originated from primitive cells that lost the ability to survive on their own.

3. Are viruses considered living organisms?

There is ongoing debate about whether viruses can be classified as living organisms. While they have some characteristics of life, such as the ability to replicate and evolve, they also lack key characteristics such as the ability to metabolize on their own. Ultimately, the classification of viruses as living or non-living is a matter of interpretation.

4. Can viruses infect other viruses?

There is some evidence that suggests certain viruses may be able to infect other viruses. This phenomenon is called virophage and is a relatively new discovery. However, much more research is needed to fully understand the implications of viral infections on other viruses.

5. How do viruses differ from other forms of life?

Viruses differ from other forms of life in several ways. They are much smaller than bacteria and lack the ability to reproduce on their own. They also have a different structure and genetic makeup. Additionally, viruses do not have the ability to metabolize, grow, or respond to stimuli like other forms of life.

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