Rahlff, Janina, Westmeijer, George, Weissenbach, Julia et al. (2 more authors) (2024) Surface microlayer-mediated virome dissemination in the Central Arctic. Microbiome. 218. ISSN 2049-2618
Abstract
Background: Aquatic viruses act as key players in shaping microbial communities. In polar environments, they face significant challenges such as limited host availability and harsh conditions. However, due to the restricted accessibility of these ecosystems, our understanding of viral diversity, abundance, adaptations, and host interactions remains limited. Results: To fill this knowledge gap, we studied viruses from atmosphere-close aquatic ecosystems in the Central Arctic and Northern Greenland. Aquatic samples for virus-host analysis were collected from ~60 cm depth and the submillimeter surface microlayer (SML) during the Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021 on icebreaker Oden in the Arctic summer. Water was sampled from a melt pond and open water before undergoing size-fractioned filtration, followed by genome-resolved metagenomic and cultivation investigations. The prokaryotic diversity in the melt pond was considerably lower compared to that of open water. The melt pond was dominated by a Flavobacterium sp. and Aquiluna sp., the latter having a relatively small genome size of 1.2 Mb and the metabolic potential to generate ATP using the phosphate acetyltransferase-acetate kinase pathway. Viral diversity on the host fraction (0.2–5 µm) of the melt pond was strikingly limited compared to that of open water. From the 1154 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), of which two-thirds were predicted bacteriophages, 17.2% encoded for auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) with metabolic functions. Some AMGs like glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase and ice-binding like proteins might serve to provide cryoprotection for the host. Prophages were often associated with SML genomes, and two active prophages of new viral genera from the Arctic SML strain Leeuwenhoekiella aequorea Arc30 were induced. We found evidence that vOTU abundance in the SML compared to that of ~60 cm depth was more positively correlated with the distribution of a vOTU across five different Arctic stations. Conclusions: The results indicate that viruses employ elaborate strategies to endure in extreme, host-limited environments. Moreover, our observations suggest that the immediate air-sea interface serves as a platform for viral distribution in the Central Arctic.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024 |
Keywords: | Auxiliary metabolic genes,Bacteria,Lysogeny,Melt pond,Metagenomics,Phage,Polar,Prophage induction,Surface microlayer,Viruses |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 25 Nov 2024 14:10 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2024 04:00 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01902-0 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/s40168-024-01902-0 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:220106 |