Appeared on the scene in 2013, unleashed from the ice by rising global temperatures. She is enigmatic, within a huge genome of 2500 genes, 93% are not known to exist in other microbes. So distinct, some believe she may represent a new 4th domain of life. For now, she occupies marine ecosystems, infecting aquatic micro-organisms by releasing her genetic material through a pore and hijacking the cell’s machinery to replicate.
Brought to life by Brendan Curtis and Lola
Brainstorming
Behind the Scenes
Giant DNA virus