Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science

Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different viruses

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More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.

Analysing DNA from seawater samples of 48 reefs, researchers have mapped the microbiome of the Great Barrier Reef, documenting more than 360,000 distinct viruses as well as more than 500 new bacterial species not previously known to science.