Giant viral signatures on the Greenland ice sheet ...

Abstract Background Dark pigmented snow and glacier ice algae on glaciers and ice sheets contribute to accelerating melt. The biological controls on these algae, particularly the role of viruses, remain poorly understood. Giant viruses, classified under the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Perini, Laura, Sipes, Katie, Zervas, Athanasios, Bellas, Christopher, Lutz, Stefanie, Moniruzzaman, Mohammad, Mourot, Rey, Benning, Liane G., Tranter, Martyn, Anesio, Alexandre M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: figshare 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7240835
https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Giant_viral_signatures_on_the_Greenland_ice_sheet/7240835
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Dark pigmented snow and glacier ice algae on glaciers and ice sheets contribute to accelerating melt. The biological controls on these algae, particularly the role of viruses, remain poorly understood. Giant viruses, classified under the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) supergroup (phylum Nucleocytoviricota), are diverse and globally distributed. NCLDVs are known to infect eukaryotic cells in marine and freshwater environments, providing a biological control on the algal population in these ecosystems. However, there is very limited information on the diversity and ecosystem function of NCLDVs in terrestrial icy habitats. Results In this study, we investigate for the first time giant viruses and their host connections on ice and snow habitats, such as cryoconite, dark ice, ice core, red and green snow, and genomic assemblies of five cultivated Chlorophyta snow algae. Giant virus marker genes were present in almost all samples; the highest abundances were recovered from red snow ...