Highly diverse and unknown viruses may enhance Antarctic endoliths’ adaptability

• Published in: Microbiome
• Main Authors: Ettinger, Cassandra L., Saunders, Morgan, Selbmann, Laura, Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Donati, Claudio, Albanese, Davide, Roux, Simon, Tringe, Susannah G., Pennacchio, Christa, del Rio, Tijana G., Stajich, Jason E., Coleine, Claudia
• Other Authors: National Science Foundation (US), European Commission, Italian Antarctic National Museum, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Junta de Andalucía, University of California, Riverside, Joint Genome Institute (US), National Institutes of Health (US), Department of Energy (US), Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Reu; Antarc*; Antarctica; Italian National Antarctic Research Program; National Antarctic Research Program
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/309328; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-023-01554-6

8 páginas.- 2 figuras.- 64 referencias.- The online version contains supplementary material available at https:// doi.org/10.1186/s40168‑023‑01554‑6.- Video sobre el artículo en YouTube https://youtu.be/ykjpjJgcVx4 Background: Rock-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. Results: We 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. Conclusion: This 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. [MediaObject not available: see fulltext.] © 2023, The Author(s) C.L.E. is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under a NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship (Award No. 2205744). M.S. was supported by the NSF REU The National Summer Undergraduate Research Project, Award No. 2149582. C.C. is supported by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 702057 (DRYLIFE). C.C. and L.S. wish to thank the Italian National Antarctic Research Program for funding sampling campaigns and research activities in Italy in the frame of PNRA projects. The Italian Antarctic ...