(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Vampire Viruses

(NOVEMBER-2023)

Vampire Viruses are pathogens that latch onto other viruses in order to replicate themselves.
They emerge when a bacteriophage attaches to a soil-based virus, utilizing its "life" for independent survival.
This viral relationship between two pathogens is called a satellite and a helper.
Satellites depend on both their host organism and helper virus to complete its life cycle.
The satellite virus depends on the helper virus to build the protective shell that covers its genetic material, called a capsid or to help it replicate its DNA.
Most satellite viruses contain a gene that allows them to integrate into the host cell's genetic material after they enter the cell.
This enables the satellite to reproduce whenever a helper enters the cell from then on.
The host cell also copies the satellite's DMA and its own when it divides.