{
  "id": 11085673,
  "title": "Oysters from five continents harbour a vast array of previously unknown RNA viruses, including many putative viruses of vertebrates",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/oysters-from-five-continents-harbour-a-vast-array-of-previously",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755536v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oysters, crucial to both aquaculture and marine ecosystems worldwide, harbor an extensive array of previously unknown RNA viruses. A comprehensive analysis of over 1,000 metatranscriptomic datasets from 13 oyster species found across 14 countries and five continents sheds light on this diverse viral community. The study identified 1,515 distinct RNA viruses, belonging to 17 viral orders and 766 species-level viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), with approximately 62% of these being entirely new and undocumented. These viruses not only span various branches of RNA virus evolution but also represent novel families and genera. Notably, the findings include viruses that are believed to infect a range of organisms, from bacteria and fungi to protists, plants, invertebrates, and even vertebrates. Utilizing sequence similarity, researchers discovered numerous calicivirus-like, orthoreovirus-like, astrovirus-like, and picornavirus-like viruses that do not infect invertebrates or microbes. This suggests that oysters act as reservoirs for a wide variety of viruses present in their surrounding waters, potentially serving as valuable tools for monitoring viral circulation within the environment.",
  "summary": "Oysters are vital to global aquaculture and marine ecosystems, yet, their associated RNA viruses remain largely unexplored. Here, we analysed ~1,000 publicly available metatranscriptomic datasets from 13 oyster species across 14 countries and 5 continents to characterize the oyster RNA virome (ORV). We identified 1,515 distinct RNA viruses putatively representing 17 viral orders and 766…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}