Obelisks is a new kind of viruslike entity that inhabits bacteria dwelling in the human mouth and gut.
- They have been called “obelisks” by the Stanford University team that unearthed them.
- They have genomes seemingly composed of loops of RNA and sequences belonging to them have been found around the world.
- Named after the highly-symmetrical, rod-like structures formed by its twisted lengths of RNA.
- These mysterious bits of genetic material have no detectable sequences or even structural similarities known to any other biological agents. The Obelisks’ genetic sequences are only around 1,000 characters (nucleotides) in size.
- Obelisks represent their own class of organism. They lie somewhere between viruses and viroids. Viroids are tiny scraps of genetic material (DNA-like molecules known as RNA) that cannot make proteins and, unlike viruses, don’t have a protective shell to encase their genome.
- These obelisk-made proteins aren’t like any proteins we know about today, which is why researchers named them “oblins.”
- Viruses, too, can make their own proteins, but they have a protective shell surrounding their genetic material, unlike obelisks.
