Lower viral evolutionary pressure under stable versus fluctuating conditions in subzero Arctic brines ...

Abstract Background Climate change threatens Earth’s ice-based ecosystems which currently offer archives and eco-evolutionary experiments in the extreme. Arctic cryopeg brine (marine-derived, within permafrost) and sea ice brine, similar in subzero temperature and high salinity but different in temp...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhong, Zhi-Ping, Vik, Dean, Rapp, Josephine Z., Zablocki, Olivier, Maughan, Heather, Temperton, Ben, Deming, Jody W., Sullivan, Matthew B.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: figshare 2023
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6778912
https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Lower_viral_evolutionary_pressure_under_stable_versus_fluctuating_conditions_in_subzero_Arctic_brines/6778912
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Summary:Abstract Background Climate change threatens Earth’s ice-based ecosystems which currently offer archives and eco-evolutionary experiments in the extreme. Arctic cryopeg brine (marine-derived, within permafrost) and sea ice brine, similar in subzero temperature and high salinity but different in temporal stability, are inhabited by microbes adapted to these extreme conditions. However, little is known about their viruses (community composition, diversity, interaction with hosts, or evolution) or how they might respond to geologically stable cryopeg versus fluctuating sea ice conditions. Results We used long- and short-read viromics and metatranscriptomics to study viruses in Arctic cryopeg brine, sea ice brine, and underlying seawater, recovering 11,088 vOTUs (~species-level taxonomic unit), a 4.4-fold increase of known viruses in these brines. More specifically, the long-read-powered viromes doubled the number of longer (≥25 kb) vOTUs generated and recovered more hypervariable regions by >5-fold compared ...