Hidden Beneath The Waves: New Circovirus discovered in whales and orcas

Beneath the ocean floor, life thrives— different species interact. But still, a hidden danger comes lurking within — a potential threat to marine animals.

Based on a study titled “Novel circoviruses identified in short-finned pilot whales and orca from the North Atlantic Ocean” in Arizona State University, they identified two unknown circoviruses in large sea mammals near the Caribbean region. The findings represent the first detection of new cetacean circoviruses in this region and expand the known diversity of circoviruses in marine ecosystems.

“We extracted it from a deceased whale tissue sample and recovered seven complete circovirus genes. Five of them were found in short-finned pilot whales, while two came from orcas. These represent two new variants, which the team named shofin circovirus and orcin circovirus,” said Arvind Varsani, a virologist from Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute.

This type of circovirus has a larger outer shell than usual. One part of it, called the E–F loop which has a tail sticking out of the virus, is almost twice as long as what researchers normally see in other circoviruses; this illustrates how this virus interacts with the body and immune system. It has less than 65.4% genes-wide identity with other classified circoviruses confirming it to be a new species of Circovirus. 

However, according to the studies, the effects of it are still yet unknown due to limitations of this discovery. This study suggests it may be linked to infecting the ancestors of modern mammals  and related to immunosuppression of its variant in infections of land mammals and birds, etc. where they weaken the immune system of a host.

This discovery brings one of the hidden threats of the ocean floors, a roar for help from whales and orcas but this article urges to bring light to the future research of understanding the effects, diversity, transmission routes, and possible effect of Circovirus.