Viruses in the oceanic basement

A team of scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) showed for the first time that many novel viruses are present in the fluids circulating deep in the rocky crust of the seafloor known as the ocean basement. Their recently published study also provides evidence that the viruses are actively infecting the many unusual microorganisms that live in the basement.