The Quest for Extraterrestrial Life: What About the Viruses?
The Quest for Extraterrestrial Life: What About the Viruses?
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DOI：
10.1089/ast.2012.0959
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发表时间：
2013-08-01
期刊：
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Griffin, Dale Warren
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Griffin, Dale Warren
最近，病毒被认为是地球上数量最多的实体和进化的主要驱动力。从历史上看，病毒在天体生物学领域大多被忽视，因为人们认为它们在经典意义上不是活的，即使遇到也不会因为它们的宿主特异性而带来风险。我们目前对病毒的了解是，我们最有可能在其他有生命的星球上遇到它们;虽然有些病毒具有独特的宿主特异性，但许多病毒可以利用数百种不同的宿主物种;已知病毒存在于我们星球上最极端的环境中;虽然许多病毒在宿主之外不能存活很长时间，但有些病毒可以存活很长时间，特别是在寒冷的环境中。在我们寻找外星生命的过程中，我们应该寻找病毒;虽然遇到的任何病毒都可能没有风险，但遇到能够访问多种细胞类型的病毒的可能性是存在的，任何与这种生物体的潜在接触都应该得到相应的对待。
Recently, viruses have been recognized as the most numerous entities and the primary drivers of evolution on Earth. Historically, viruses have been mostly ignored in the field of astrobiology due to the view that they are not alive in the classical sense and if encountered would not present risk due to their host-specific nature. What we currently know of viruses is that we are most likely to encounter them on other life-bearing planets; that while some are exquisitely host-specific, many viruses can utilize hundreds of different host species; that viruses are known to exist in our planet's most extreme environments; and that while many do not survive long outside their hosts, some can survive for extended periods, especially in the cold. In our quest for extraterrestrial life, we should be looking for viruses; and while any encountered may pose no risk, the possibility of an encounter with a virus capable of accessing multiple cell types exists, and any prospective contact with such an organism should be treated accordingly.