Distinct and rich assemblages of giant viruses in Arctic and Antarctic lakes

Giant viruses (GVs) are key players in ecosystem functioning, biogeochemistry, and eukaryotic genome evolution. GV diversity and abundance in aquatic systems can exceed that of prokaryotes, but their diversity and ecology in lakes, especially polar ones, remain poorly understood. We conducted a comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ISME Communications
Main Authors: Pitot, Thomas M., Rapp, Josephine Z., Schulz, Frederik, Girard, Catherine, Roux, Simon, Culley, Alexander
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Lacustrine polar virology
Nucleocytoviricota
Meta-analysis
Last Ice Area margin
Metagenomics
Virologie aquatique
Méta-analyse
Métagénomique
Écologie des lacs
Antarctic
Arctic
Canada
Antarc*
Subarctic
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/146909
https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycae048
Description
Summary:Giant viruses (GVs) are key players in ecosystem functioning, biogeochemistry, and eukaryotic genome evolution. GV diversity and abundance in aquatic systems can exceed that of prokaryotes, but their diversity and ecology in lakes, especially polar ones, remain poorly understood. We conducted a comprehensive survey and meta-analysis of GV diversity across 20 lakes, spanning polar to temperate regions, combining our extensive lake metagenome database from the Canadian Arctic and subarctic with publicly available datasets. Leveraging a novel GV genome identification tool, we identified 3304 GV metagenome-assembled genomes, revealing lakes as untapped GV reservoirs. Phylogenomic analysis highlighted their dispersion across all Nucleocytoviricota orders. Strong GV population endemism emerged between lakes from similar regions and biomes (Antarctic and Arctic), but a polar/temperate barrier in lacustrine GV populations and differences in their gene content could be observed. Our study establishes a robust genomic reference for future investigations into lacustrine GV ecology in fast changing polar environments.

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