Ancient virus found frozen in Siberian ice

PARIS, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Another ancient virus has emerged from the permafrost of Siberia. The newly analyzed virus is the fourth scientists have uncovered in the arctic tundra since 2003.

The 30,000-year-old virus was described by a team of French scientists in a new paper, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The virus, dubbed Mollivirus sibericum, measures 0.6 microns across, qualifying it as a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) or, more simply, a "giant virus."

Scientists found the virus infecting an amoeba frozen in a permafrost sample collected in the far northeast of Siberia. Sequencing revealed its DNA to boast 650,000 base pairs and at least 500 proteins -- HIV has just nine.

In a press release, researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) said the discovery "suggests that giant viruses are not so rare and are highly diversified."

It also proves that a variety of virus types can survive long periods of time at extremely cold temperatures.

The scientists responsible for the most recent discovery are now analyzing even older layers of permafrost in hopes of finding new virus types.