by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
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A mysterious protein produced by a virus<\/strong> would be behind some key functions of soil. That’s the fascinating hypothesis emerging from a recent study<\/a> published in the journal Nature. The investigation follows others studies on the role of microorganisms’ interactions<\/a> in regulating some crucial issues such as nutrient and carbon cycling in a way that remains largely unknown.<\/p>\n The scientists, from three different U.S. research centers-the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, the Joint Genome Institute in Berkeley and the Synchrotron Radiation Light at Stanford University-focused on a category of subjects known as auxiliary metabolic genes<\/strong> (AMGs) capable of producing certain proteins, including enzymes<\/strong>, that are not essential for virus replication. But also seem to affect soil processes.<\/p>\n