Highly diverse and unknown viruses may enhance Antarctic endoliths’ adaptability

• Main Authors: Ettinger, Cassandra L, Saunders, Morgan, Selbmann, Laura, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Donati, Claudio, Albanese, Davide, Roux, Simon, Tringe, Susannah, Pennacchio, Christa, del Rio, Tijana G, Stajich, Jason E, Coleine, Claudia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2023
• Subjects: Microbiology; Biological Sciences; Ecology; Aetiology; 2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment; Infection; Antarctic Regions; Acclimatization; Bicycling; Climate; Microbiota; Medical Microbiology; Evolutionary biology; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/65p0p1x8

BackgroundRock-dwelling microorganisms are key players in ecosystem functioning of Antarctic ice free-areas. Yet, little is known about their diversity and ecology, and further still, viruses in these communities have been largely unexplored despite important roles related to host metabolism and nutrient cycling. To begin to address this, we present a large-scale viral catalog from Antarctic rock microbial communities.ResultsWe performed metagenomic analyses on rocks from across Antarctica representing a broad range of environmental and spatial conditions, and which resulted in a predicted viral catalog comprising > 75,000 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUS). We found largely undescribed, highly diverse and spatially structured virus communities which had predicted auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) with functions indicating that they may be potentially influencing bacterial adaptation and biogeochemistry.ConclusionThis catalog lays the foundation for expanding knowledge of virosphere diversity, function, spatial ecology, and dynamics in extreme environments. This work serves as a step towards exploring adaptability of microbial communities in the face of a changing climate. Video Abstract.