Scientists from the John Hopkins University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have found the DNA of Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1, once thought to be confined to only the cells of algae, has  invaded the biological kingdom of animals and were found in the throats of healthy test subjects on an unrelated study.

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The researchers found DNA that resembles that of a chlorovirus of algae while taking swabs from the throats of healthy subjects in a study on cognitive functioning.

The findings represent  the first-ever documented case in history of gene sequences of chlorovirus in the throat cavity of humans, the scientists reported.

"Chloroviruses are worldwide," said senior author James Van Etten, William Allington Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology and a co-director of the Nebraska Center for Virology, who helped discover their existence in green algae over 30 years ago. "They're very common among inland bodies of fresh water such as lakes and ponds."

"But I don't know of many examples of viruses jumping from one kingdom to another. If this turns out to be true, this is quite rare and a total surprise."

After the subjects finished the original study on cognitive assessments for which they were brought in, the scientists also found that the participants that have the DNA of the ACTV-1 performed significantly worse than those without it in tests on spatial orientation and visual processing.

"This is a striking example showing that the 'innocuous' microorganisms we carry can affect behavior and cognition," said lead investigator Robert Yolken, director of the Stanley Neurovirology Laboratory at Johns Hopkins. "Many physiological differences between person A and person B are encoded in the set of genes each inherits from parents, yet some of these differences are fueled by the various microorganisms we harbor and the way they interact with our genes."

TagsAlgae virus, Cognitive performance, Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1, Chlorovirus, DNA