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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's research team discovered the first virus-eating organism, a "virovore."
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John DeLong, a biologist, led his colleagues to identify virus-eating microbes.
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He took freshwater samples from nearby ponds. The team returned to the lab and isolated various microbes from the samples.
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They then added chlorovirus, an algae-targeting freshwatervirus, to the water.
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They eventually found what they were looking to find: a single-celled organism called a ciliate with hair-likecilia.
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Although scientists have known for some time about Halteria's existence, they believe that the ciliate eats only bacteria.
Halteria under a microscope.
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However, the lab found that Halteria craved more than their usual algae. They also seemed to enjoy the additional chlorovirus.
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Halteria grew 15% two days after DeLong's team removed all other food sources from the sample tanks.
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In the meantime, chlorovirus levels fell to just 1% of their original population.
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DeLong and his colleagues wanted to confirm Halteria’s desire for chlorovirus. They did this by injecting it with fluorescent dye.
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Soon, Halteria started to glow. Paramecium bursaria was another freshwater-dwelling ciliate that the team observed.
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However, Paramecium did not grow in size or population after it had consumed chlorovirus.