Names of newly discovered soil viruses contain veiled `Zags references
Biology students at Gonzaga University participating in a national genomic research project managed to tuck a couple Zag Nation references into the names of newly discovered soil viruses.
"GUmbie" and "Spike509" now are the scientifically recognized names for two of the six viruses, known as mycobacterial phages, that Gonzaga students discovered and conducted DNA analysis on as part of a multi-year research project involving about 70 universities. Overall, the consortium found and researched 627 phages that infect soil, according to the university.
The findings were published last month in the scientific journal eLife, with Gonzaga getting a mention in the acknowledgements section toward the end. The research effort was organized by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.