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Fromm A, Hevroni G, Vincent F, Schatz D, Martinez-Gutierrez CA, Aylward FO, Vardi A. Single-cell RNA-seq of the rare virosphere reveals the native hosts of giant viruses in the marine environment. Nat Microbiol 2024; 9:1619-1629. [PMID: 38605173 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01669-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Giant viruses (phylum Nucleocytoviricota) are globally distributed in aquatic ecosystems. They play fundamental roles as evolutionary drivers of eukaryotic plankton and regulators of global biogeochemical cycles. However, we lack knowledge about their native hosts, hindering our understanding of their life cycle and ecological importance. In the present study, we applied a single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) approach to samples collected during an induced algal bloom, which enabled pairing active giant viruses with their native protist hosts. We detected hundreds of single cells from multiple host lineages infected by diverse giant viruses. These host cells included members of the algal groups Chrysophycae and Prymnesiophycae, as well as heterotrophic flagellates in the class Katablepharidaceae. Katablepharids were infected with a rare Imitervirales-07 giant virus lineage expressing a large repertoire of cell-fate regulation genes. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of these host-virus interactions revealed an important role for the Imitervirales-07 in controlling the population size of the host Katablepharid population. Our results demonstrate that scRNA-seq can be used to identify previously undescribed host-virus interactions and study their ecological importance and impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Fromm
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Gur Hevroni
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Google Geo, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Flora Vincent
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biological Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniella Schatz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Frank O Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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2
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Wang G, Cao Y, Xu C, Zhang S, Huang Y, Zhang S, Bao W. Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of porcine intestinal epithelial cells after PDCoV infection. Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1359547. [PMID: 38855411 PMCID: PMC11160942 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1359547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), an emerging swine enteropathogenic coronavirus with worldwide distribution, mainly infects newborn piglets with severe diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and even death, causing huge economic losses to the pig industry. However, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of PDCoV infection and the effects of PDCoV infection on host transcripts and metabolites remain incompletely understood. Methods This study investigated a combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) following PDCoV infection by LC/MS and RNA-seq techniques. A total of 1,401 differentially expressed genes and 254 differentially accumulated metabolites were detected in the comparison group of PDCoV-infected vs. mock-infected. Results and discussion We found that PDCoV infection regulates gene sets associated with multiple signaling pathways, including the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, MAPK signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, ras signaling pathway and so on. Besides, the metabolomic results showed that biosynthesis of cofactors, nucleotide metabolism, protein digestion and absorption, and biosynthesis of amino acid were involved in PDCoV infection. Moreover, integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses revealed the involvement of ferroptosis in PDCoV infection, and exogenous addition of the ferroptosis activator erastin significantly inhibited PDCoV replication. Overall, these unique transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming features may provide a better understanding of PDCoV-infected IPEC-J2 cells and potential targets for antiviral treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangzheng Wang
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yanan Cao
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Chao Xu
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Shuoshuo Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yanjie Huang
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Shuai Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Wenbin Bao
- Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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Takebe H, Tominaga K, Isozaki T, Watanabe T, Yamamoto K, Kamikawa R, Yoshida T. Taxonomic difference in marine bloom-forming phytoplanktonic species affects the dynamics of both bloom-responding prokaryotes and prokaryotic viruses. mSystems 2024; 9:e0094923. [PMID: 38441030 PMCID: PMC11019789 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00949-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The production of dissolved organic matter during phytoplankton blooms and consumption by heterotrophic prokaryotes promote marine carbon biogeochemical cycling. Although prokaryotic viruses presumably affect this process, their dynamics during blooms are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the effects of taxonomic difference in bloom-forming phytoplankton on prokaryotes and their viruses. We analyzed the dynamics of coastal prokaryotic communities and viruses under the addition of dissolved intracellular fractions from taxonomically distinct phytoplankton, the diatom Chaetoceros sp. (CIF) and the raphidophycean alga Heterosigma akashiwo (HIF), using microcosm experiments. Ribosomal RNA gene amplicon and viral metagenomic analyses revealed that particular prokaryotes and prokaryotic viruses specifically increased in either CIF or HIF, indicating that taxonomic difference in bloom-forming phytoplankton promotes distinct dynamics of not only the prokaryotic community but also prokaryotic viruses. Furthermore, combining our microcosm experiments with publicly available environmental data mining, we identified both known and novel possible host-virus pairs. In particular, the growth of prokaryotes associating with phytoplanktonic organic matter, such as Bacteroidetes (Polaribacter and NS9 marine group), Vibrio spp., and Rhodobacteriales (Nereida and Planktomarina), was accompanied by an increase in viruses predicted to infect Bacteroidetes, Vibrio, and Rhodobacteriales, respectively. Collectively, our findings suggest that changes in bloom-forming species can be followed by an increase in a specific group of prokaryotes and their viruses and that elucidating these tripartite relationships among specific phytoplankton, prokaryotes, and prokaryotic viruses improves our understanding of coastal biogeochemical cycling in blooms.IMPORTANCEThe primary production during marine phytoplankton bloom and the consumption of the produced organic matter by heterotrophic prokaryotes significantly contribute to coastal biogeochemical cycles. While the activities of those heterotrophic prokaryotes are presumably affected by viral infection, the dynamics of their viruses during blooms are not fully understood. In this study, we experimentally demonstrated that intracellular fractions of taxonomically distinct bloom-forming phytoplankton species, the diatom Chaetoceros sp. and the raphidophycean alga Heterosigma akashiwo, promoted the growth of taxonomically different prokaryotes and prokaryotic viruses. Based on their dynamics and predicted hosts of those viruses, we succeeded in detecting already-known and novel possible host-virus pairs associating with either phytoplankton species. Altogether, we propose that the succession of bloom-forming phytoplankton would change the composition of the abundant prokaryotes, resulting in an increase in their viruses. These changes in viral composition, depending on bloom-forming species, would alter the dynamics and metabolism of prokaryotes, affecting biogeochemical cycling in blooms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroaki Takebe
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Kento Tominaga
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | | | - Keigo Yamamoto
- Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryoma Kamikawa
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Takashi Yoshida
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Yu M, Zhang M, Zeng R, Cheng R, Zhang R, Hou Y, Kuang F, Feng X, Dong X, Li Y, Shao Z, Jin M. Diversity and potential host-interactions of viruses inhabiting deep-sea seamount sediments. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3228. [PMID: 38622147 PMCID: PMC11018836 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47600-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Seamounts are globally distributed across the oceans and form one of the major oceanic biomes. Here, we utilized combined analyses of bulk metagenome and virome to study viral communities in seamount sediments in the western Pacific Ocean. Phylogenetic analyses and the protein-sharing network demonstrate extensive diversity and previously unknown viral clades. Inference of virus-host linkages uncovers extensive interactions between viruses and dominant prokaryote lineages, and suggests that viruses play significant roles in carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycling by compensating or augmenting host metabolisms. Moreover, temperate viruses are predicted to be prevalent in seamount sediments, which tend to carry auxiliary metabolic genes for host survivability. Intriguingly, the geographical features of seamounts likely compromise the connectivity of viral communities and thus contribute to the high divergence of viral genetic spaces and populations across seamounts. Altogether, these findings provides knowledge essential for understanding the biogeography and ecological roles of viruses in globally widespread seamounts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meishun Yu
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Menghui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Runying Zeng
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Ruolin Cheng
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yanping Hou
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Fangfang Kuang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Xuejin Feng
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Xiyang Dong
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Yinfang Li
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Zongze Shao
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China.
| | - Min Jin
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Marine Genetic Resource and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361000, China.
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Wu LY, Wijesekara Y, Piedade GJ, Pappas N, Brussaard CPD, Dutilh BE. Benchmarking bioinformatic virus identification tools using real-world metagenomic data across biomes. Genome Biol 2024; 25:97. [PMID: 38622738 PMCID: PMC11020464 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03236-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As most viruses remain uncultivated, metagenomics is currently the main method for virus discovery. Detecting viruses in metagenomic data is not trivial. In the past few years, many bioinformatic virus identification tools have been developed for this task, making it challenging to choose the right tools, parameters, and cutoffs. As all these tools measure different biological signals, and use different algorithms and training and reference databases, it is imperative to conduct an independent benchmarking to give users objective guidance. RESULTS We compare the performance of nine state-of-the-art virus identification tools in thirteen modes on eight paired viral and microbial datasets from three distinct biomes, including a new complex dataset from Antarctic coastal waters. The tools have highly variable true positive rates (0-97%) and false positive rates (0-30%). PPR-Meta best distinguishes viral from microbial contigs, followed by DeepVirFinder, VirSorter2, and VIBRANT. Different tools identify different subsets of the benchmarking data and all tools, except for Sourmash, find unique viral contigs. Performance of tools improved with adjusted parameter cutoffs, indicating that adjustment of parameter cutoffs before usage should be considered. CONCLUSIONS Together, our independent benchmarking facilitates selecting choices of bioinformatic virus identification tools and gives suggestions for parameter adjustments to viromics researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Yi Wu
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science4Life, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, The Netherlands
| | - Yasas Wijesekara
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University Medicine Greifswald, Felix Hausdorff Str. 8, 17475, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Gonçalo J Piedade
- Department Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, PO Box 59, Texel, 1790 AB, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nikolaos Pappas
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science4Life, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, The Netherlands
| | - Corina P D Brussaard
- Department Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, PO Box 59, Texel, 1790 AB, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bas E Dutilh
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science4Life, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
- Institute of Biodiversity, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany.
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6
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Kuhlisch C, Shemi A, Barak-Gavish N, Schatz D, Vardi A. Algal blooms in the ocean: hot spots for chemically mediated microbial interactions. Nat Rev Microbiol 2024; 22:138-154. [PMID: 37833328 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-023-00975-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
The cycling of major nutrients in the ocean is affected by large-scale phytoplankton blooms, which are hot spots of microbial life. Diverse microbial interactions regulate bloom dynamics. At the single-cell level, interactions between microorganisms are mediated by small molecules in the chemical crosstalk that determines the type of interaction, ranging from mutualism to pathogenicity. Algae interact with viruses, bacteria, parasites, grazers and other algae to modulate algal cell fate, and these interactions are dependent on the environmental context. Recent advances in mass spectrometry and single-cell technologies have led to the discovery of a growing number of infochemicals - metabolites that convey information - revealing the ability of algal cells to govern biotic interactions in the ocean. The diversity of infochemicals seems to account for the specificity in cellular response during microbial communication. Given the immense impact of algal blooms on biogeochemical cycles and climate regulation, a major challenge is to elucidate how microscale interactions control the fate of carbon and the recycling of major elements in the ocean. In this Review, we discuss microbial interactions and the role of infochemicals in algal blooms. We further explore factors that can impact microbial interactions and the available tools to decipher them in the natural environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constanze Kuhlisch
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Adva Shemi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Noa Barak-Gavish
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniella Schatz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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7
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Zhang H, Zhang H, Du H, Yu X, Xu Y. The insights into the phage communities of fermented foods in the age of viral metagenomics. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2024:1-13. [PMID: 38214674 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2299323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Phages play a critical role in the assembly and regulation of fermented food microbiome through lysis and lysogenic lifestyle, which in turn affects the yield and quality of fermented foods. Therefore, it is important to investigate and characterize the diversity and function of phages under complex microbial communities and nutrient substrate conditions to provide novel insights into the regulation of traditional spontaneous fermentation. Viral metagenomics has gradually garnered increasing attention in fermented food research to elucidate phage functions and characterize the interactions between phages and the microbial community. Advances in this technology have uncovered a wide range of phages associated with the production of traditional fermented foods and beverages. This paper reviews the common methods of viral metagenomics applied in fermented food research, and summarizes the ecological functions of phages in traditional fermented foods. In the future, combining viral metagenomics with culturable methods and metagenomics will broaden the scope of research on fermented food systems, revealing the complex role of phages and intricate phage-bacterium interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huadong Zhang
- Laboratory of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hongxia Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Hai Du
- Laboratory of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiaowei Yu
- Laboratory of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Laboratory of Brewing Microbiology and Applied Enzymology, The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
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8
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Joffe N, Kuhlisch C, Schleyer G, Ahlers NS, Shemi A, Vardi A. Cell-to-cell heterogeneity drives host-virus coexistence in a bloom-forming alga. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae038. [PMID: 38452203 PMCID: PMC10980834 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Algal blooms drive global biogeochemical cycles of key nutrients and serve as hotspots for biological interactions in the ocean. The massive blooms of the cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi are often infected by the lytic E. huxleyi virus, which is a major mortality agent triggering bloom demise. This multi-annual "boom and bust" pattern of E. huxleyi blooms suggests that coexistence is essential for these host-virus dynamics. To investigate host-virus coexistence, we developed a new model system from an E. huxleyi culture that recovered from viral infection. The recovered population coexists with the virus, as host cells continue to divide in parallel to viral production. By applying single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) to quantify the fraction of infected cells, and assessing infection-specific lipid biomarkers, we identified a small subpopulation of cells that were infected and produced new virions, whereas most of the host population could resist infection. To further assess population heterogeneity, we generated clonal strain collections using single-cell sorting and subsequently phenotyped their susceptibility to E. huxleyi virus infection. This unraveled substantial cell-to-cell heterogeneity across a continuum of susceptibility to resistance, highlighting that infection outcome may vary depending on the individual cell. These results add a new dimension to our understanding of the complexity of host-virus interactions that are commonly assessed in bulk and described by binary definitions of resistance or susceptibility. We propose that phenotypic heterogeneity drives the host-virus coexistence and demonstrate how the coexistence with a lytic virus provides an ecological advantage for the host by killing competing strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nir Joffe
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Constanze Kuhlisch
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Guy Schleyer
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Nadia S Ahlers
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Adva Shemi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
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9
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Howard-Varona C, Lindback MM, Fudyma JD, Krongauz A, Solonenko NE, Zayed AA, Andreopoulos WB, Olson HM, Kim YM, Kyle JE, Glavina del Rio T, Adkins JN, Tfaily MM, Paul S, Sullivan MB, Duhaime MB. Environment-specific virocell metabolic reprogramming. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae055. [PMID: 38552150 PMCID: PMC11170926 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Viruses impact microbial systems through killing hosts, horizontal gene transfer, and altering cellular metabolism, consequently impacting nutrient cycles. A virus-infected cell, a "virocell," is distinct from its uninfected sister cell as the virus commandeers cellular machinery to produce viruses rather than replicate cells. Problematically, virocell responses to the nutrient-limited conditions that abound in nature are poorly understood. Here we used a systems biology approach to investigate virocell metabolic reprogramming under nutrient limitation. Using transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and endo- and exo-metabolomics, we assessed how low phosphate (low-P) conditions impacted virocells of a marine Pseudoalteromonas host when independently infected by two unrelated phages (HP1 and HS2). With the combined stresses of infection and nutrient limitation, a set of nested responses were observed. First, low-P imposed common cellular responses on all cells (virocells and uninfected cells), including activating the canonical P-stress response, and decreasing transcription, translation, and extracellular organic matter consumption. Second, low-P imposed infection-specific responses (for both virocells), including enhancing nitrogen assimilation and fatty acid degradation, and decreasing extracellular lipid relative abundance. Third, low-P suggested virocell-specific strategies. Specifically, HS2-virocells regulated gene expression by increasing transcription and ribosomal protein production, whereas HP1-virocells accumulated host proteins, decreased extracellular peptide relative abundance, and invested in broader energy and resource acquisition. These results suggest that although environmental conditions shape metabolism in common ways regardless of infection, virocell-specific strategies exist to support viral replication during nutrient limitation, and a framework now exists for identifying metabolic strategies of nutrient-limited virocells in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Howard-Varona
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Morgan M Lindback
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 North University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Jane D Fudyma
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, 1177 E 4th St, Tucson, AZ 85719, United States
- Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States
| | - Azriel Krongauz
- Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University, 1958 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Natalie E Solonenko
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Ahmed A Zayed
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - William B Andreopoulos
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
- Present address: Department of Computer Science, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose CA 95192, United States
| | - Heather M Olson
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA 99354, United States
| | - Young-Mo Kim
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA 99354, United States
| | - Jennifer E Kyle
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA 99354, United States
| | - Tijana Glavina del Rio
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Joshua N Adkins
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA 99354, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, United States
| | - Malak M Tfaily
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, 1177 E 4th St, Tucson, AZ 85719, United States
| | - Subhadeep Paul
- Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University, 1958 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2070 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
- Center for RNA Biology and Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, 484 W. 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Melissa B Duhaime
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 North University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
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Chen Q, Lønborg C, Chen F, Zhang R, Cai R, Li Y, He C, Shi Q, Jiao N, Zheng Q. Bottom-up and top-down controls on Alteromonas macleodii lead to different dissolved organic matter compositions. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycae010. [PMID: 38469454 PMCID: PMC10926778 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
The effects of both bottom-up (e.g. substrate) and top-down (e.g. viral lysis) controls on the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter have not been investigated. In this study, we investigated the dissolved organic matter composition of the model bacterium Alteromonas macleodii ATCC 27126 growing on different substrates (glucose, laminarin, extracts from a Synechococcus culture, oligotrophic seawater, and eutrophic seawater), and infected with a lytic phage. The ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry analysis showed that when growing on different substrates Alteromonas macleodii preferred to use reduced, saturated nitrogen-containing molecules (i.e. O4 formula species) and released or preserved oxidized, unsaturated sulfur-containing molecules (i.e. O7 formula species). However, when infected with the lytic phage, Alteromonas macleodii produced organic molecules with higher hydrogen saturation, and more nitrogen- or sulfur-containing molecules. Our results demonstrate that bottom-up (i.e. varying substrates) and top-down (i.e. viral lysis) controls leave different molecular fingerprints in the produced dissolved organic matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Christian Lønborg
- Section for Marine Diversity and Experimental Ecology, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Feng Chen
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, MD 21202, United States
| | - Rui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Ruanhong Cai
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Yunyun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China
| | - Chen He
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China
| | - Quan Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China
| | - Nianzhi Jiao
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Qiang Zheng
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
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11
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Kallies R, Hu D, Abdulkadir N, Schloter M, Rocha U. Identification of Huge Phages from Wastewater Metagenomes. Viruses 2023; 15:2330. [PMID: 38140571 PMCID: PMC10747093 DOI: 10.3390/v15122330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Huge phages have genomes larger than 200 kilobases, which are particularly interesting for their genetic inventory and evolution. We screened 165 wastewater metagenomes for the presence of viral sequences. After identifying over 600 potential huge phage genomes, we reduced the dataset using manual curation by excluding viral contigs that did not contain viral protein-coding genes or consisted of concatemers of several small phage genomes. This dataset showed seven fully annotated huge phage genomes. The phages grouped into distinct phylogenetic clades, likely forming new genera and families. A phylogenomic analysis between our huge phages and phages with smaller genomes, i.e., less than 200 kb, supported the hypothesis that huge phages have undergone convergent evolution. The genomes contained typical phage protein-coding genes, sequential gene cassettes for metabolic pathways, and complete inventories of tRNA genes covering all standard and rare amino acids. Our study showed a pipeline for huge phage analyses that may lead to new enzymes for therapeutic or biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- René Kallies
- Department for Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany; (D.H.); (N.A.)
| | - Die Hu
- Department for Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany; (D.H.); (N.A.)
| | - Nafi’u Abdulkadir
- Department for Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany; (D.H.); (N.A.)
| | - Michael Schloter
- Department of Environmental Health, Helmholtz Munich, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, D-85758 Neuherberg, Germany;
| | - Ulisses Rocha
- Department for Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany; (D.H.); (N.A.)
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12
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Hevroni G, Vincent F, Ku C, Sheyn U, Vardi A. Daily turnover of active giant virus infection during algal blooms revealed by single-cell transcriptomics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf7971. [PMID: 37824628 PMCID: PMC10569711 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf7971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Giant viruses infect many unicellular eukaryotes, including algae that form massive oceanic blooms. Despite the major impact of viruses on the marine ecosystem, the ability to quantify and assess active viral infection in nature remains a major challenge. We applied single-cell RNA sequencing, to profile virus and host transcriptomes of 12,000 single algal cells from a coccolithophore bloom. Viral infection was detected already at early exponential bloom phase, negatively correlating with the bloom intensity. A consistent percent of infected coccolithophores displayed the early phase of viral replication for several consecutive days, indicating a daily turnover and continuous virocell-associated metabolite production, potentially affecting the surrounding microbiome. Linking single-cell infection state to host physiology revealed that infected cells remained calcified even in the late infection stage. These findings stress the importance of studying host-virus dynamics in natural populations, at single-cell resolution, to better understand virus life cycle and its impact on microbial food webs.
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13
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Garrett O, Whalen KE. A bacterial quorum sensing signal is a potent inhibitor of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in the globally abundant Emiliania huxleyi. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1266972. [PMID: 37869665 PMCID: PMC10587436 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1266972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions between marine phytoplankton, viruses, and bacteria drive biogeochemical cycling, shape marine trophic structures, and impact global climate. Microbially produced compounds have emerged as key players in influencing eukaryotic organismal physiology, and in turn, remodel microbial community structure. This work aimed to reveal the molecular mechanism by which the bacterial quorum sensing molecule 2-heptyl-4-quinolone (HHQ), produced by the marine gammaproteobacterium Pseudoalteromonas spp., arrests cell division and confers protection from virus-induced mortality in the bloom-forming coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Previous work has established alkylquinolones as inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), a fundamental enzyme catalyzing the fourth step in pyrimidine biosynthesis and a potential antiviral drug target. An N-terminally truncated version of E. huxleyi DHODH was heterologously expressed in E. coli, purified, and kinetically characterized. Here, we show HHQ is a potent inhibitor (Ki of 2.3 nM) of E. huxleyi DHODH. E. huxleyi cells exposed to brequinar, the canonical human DHODH inhibitor, experienced immediate, yet reversible cellular arrest, an effect which mirrors HHQ-induced cellular stasis previously observed. However, brequinar treatment lacked other notable effects observed in HHQ-exposed E. huxleyi including significant changes in cell size, chlorophyll fluorescence, and protection from virus-induced lysis, indicating HHQ has additional as yet undiscovered physiological targets. Together, these results suggest a novel and intricate role of bacterial quorum sensing molecules in tripartite interdomain interactions in marine ecosystems, opening new avenues for exploring the role of microbial chemical signaling in algal bloom regulation and host-pathogen dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kristen E. Whalen
- Department of Biology, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, United States
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14
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Wu LY, Piedade GJ, Moore RM, Harrison AO, Martins AM, Bidle KD, Polson SW, Sakowski EG, Nissimov JI, Dums JT, Ferrell BD, Wommack KE. Ubiquitous, B 12-dependent virioplankton utilizing ribonucleotide-triphosphate reductase demonstrate interseasonal dynamics and associate with a diverse range of bacterial hosts in the pelagic ocean. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:108. [PMID: 37789093 PMCID: PMC10547690 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00306-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Through infection and lysis of their coexisting bacterial hosts, viruses impact the biogeochemical cycles sustaining globally significant pelagic oceanic ecosystems. Currently, little is known of the ecological interactions between lytic viruses and their bacterial hosts underlying these biogeochemical impacts at ecosystem scales. This study focused on populations of lytic viruses carrying the B12-dependent Class II monomeric ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) gene, ribonucleotide-triphosphate reductase (Class II RTPR), documenting seasonal changes in pelagic virioplankton and bacterioplankton using amplicon sequences of Class II RTPR and the 16S rRNA gene, respectively. Amplicon sequence libraries were analyzed using compositional data analysis tools that account for the compositional nature of these data. Both virio- and bacterioplankton communities responded to environmental changes typically seen across seasonal cycles as well as shorter term upwelling-downwelling events. Defining Class II RTPR-carrying viral populations according to major phylogenetic clades proved a more robust means of exploring virioplankton ecology than operational taxonomic units defined by percent sequence homology. Virioplankton Class II RTPR populations showed positive associations with a broad phylogenetic diversity of bacterioplankton including dominant taxa within pelagic oceanic ecosystems such as Prochlorococcus and SAR11. Temporal changes in Class II RTPR virioplankton, occurring as both free viruses and within infected cells, indicated possible viral-host pairs undergoing sustained infection and lysis cycles throughout the seasonal study. Phylogenetic relationships inferred from Class II RTPR sequences mirrored ecological patterns in virio- and bacterioplankton populations demonstrating possible genome to phenome associations for an essential viral replication gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Yi Wu
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science4Life, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, the Netherlands
| | - Gonçalo J Piedade
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 1797 SZ, t'Horntje, The Netherlands
- Department of Oceanography and Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Institute-OKEANOS, University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Faial, Azores, Portugal
| | - Ryan M Moore
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA
| | - Amelia O Harrison
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA
| | - Ana M Martins
- Department of Oceanography and Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Institute-OKEANOS, University of the Azores, 9901-862 Horta, Faial, Azores, Portugal
| | - Kay D Bidle
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Rd., New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Shawn W Polson
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA
| | - Eric G Sakowski
- Department of Earth Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jozef I Nissimov
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Jacob T Dums
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA
- Biotechnology Program, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Dr, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Barbra D Ferrell
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA
| | - K Eric Wommack
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE, 19713, USA.
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15
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Yi Y, Liu S, Hao Y, Sun Q, Lei X, Wang Y, Wang J, Zhang M, Tang S, Tang Q, Zhang Y, Liu X, Wang Y, Xiao X, Jian H. A systematic analysis of marine lysogens and proviruses. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6013. [PMID: 37758717 PMCID: PMC10533544 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41699-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Viruses are ubiquitous in the oceans, exhibiting high abundance and diversity. Here, we systematically analyze existing genomic sequences of marine prokaryotes to compile a Marine Prokaryotic Genome Dataset (MPGD, consisting of over 12,000 bacterial and archaeal genomes) and a Marine Temperate Viral Genome Dataset (MTVGD). At least 40% of the MPGD genomes contain one or more proviral sequences, indicating that they are lysogens. The MTVGD includes over 12,900 viral contigs or putative proviruses, clustered into 10,897 viral genera. We show that lysogens and proviruses are abundant in marine ecosystems, particularly in the deep sea, and marine lysogens differ from non-lysogens in multiple genomic features and growth properties. We reveal several virus-host interaction networks of potential ecological relevance, and identify proviruses that appear to be able to infect (or to be transferred between) different bacterial classes and phyla. Auxiliary metabolic genes in the MTVGD are enriched in functions related to carbohydrate metabolism. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate the impact of a prophage on the transcriptome of a representative marine Shewanella bacterium. Our work contributes to a better understanding of the ecology of marine prokaryotes and their viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shunzhang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yali Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Qingyang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinjuan Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Yecheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiahua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mujie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Shan Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Qingxue Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xipeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Yinzhao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
| | - Xiang Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China
| | - Huahua Jian
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China.
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16
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Moniruzzaman M, Erazo Garcia MP, Farzad R, Ha AD, Jivaji A, Karki S, Sheyn U, Stanton J, Minch B, Stephens D, Hancks DC, Rodrigues RAL, Abrahao JS, Vardi A, Aylward FO. Virologs, viral mimicry, and virocell metabolism: the expanding scale of cellular functions encoded in the complex genomes of giant viruses. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2023; 47:fuad053. [PMID: 37740576 PMCID: PMC10583209 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuad053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The phylum Nucleocytoviricota includes the largest and most complex viruses known. These "giant viruses" have a long evolutionary history that dates back to the early diversification of eukaryotes, and over time they have evolved elaborate strategies for manipulating the physiology of their hosts during infection. One of the most captivating of these mechanisms involves the use of genes acquired from the host-referred to here as viral homologs or "virologs"-as a means of promoting viral propagation. The best-known examples of these are involved in mimicry, in which viral machinery "imitates" immunomodulatory elements in the vertebrate defense system. But recent findings have highlighted a vast and rapidly expanding array of other virologs that include many genes not typically found in viruses, such as those involved in translation, central carbon metabolism, cytoskeletal structure, nutrient transport, vesicular trafficking, and light harvesting. Unraveling the roles of virologs during infection as well as the evolutionary pathways through which complex functional repertoires are acquired by viruses are important frontiers at the forefront of giant virus research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Moniruzzaman
- Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33149, United States
| | - Maria Paula Erazo Garcia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Roxanna Farzad
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Anh D Ha
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Abdeali Jivaji
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Sangita Karki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Uri Sheyn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Joshua Stanton
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
| | - Benjamin Minch
- Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33149, United States
| | - Danae Stephens
- Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33149, United States
| | - Dustin C Hancks
- Department of Immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Rodrigo A L Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
| | - Jonatas S Abrahao
- Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Frank O Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Infectious Disease, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
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17
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Gaïa M, Forterre P. From Mimivirus to Mirusvirus: The Quest for Hidden Giants. Viruses 2023; 15:1758. [PMID: 37632100 PMCID: PMC10458455 DOI: 10.3390/v15081758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Our perception of viruses has been drastically evolving since the inception of the field of virology over a century ago. In particular, the discovery of giant viruses from the Nucleocytoviricota phylum marked a pivotal moment. Their previously concealed diversity and abundance unearthed an unprecedented complexity in the virus world, a complexity that called for new definitions and concepts. These giant viruses underscore the intricate interactions that unfold over time between viruses and their hosts, and are themselves suspected to have played a significant role as a driving force in the evolution of eukaryotes since the dawn of this cellular domain. Whether they possess exceptional relationships with their hosts or whether they unveil the actual depths of evolutionary connections between viruses and cells otherwise hidden in smaller viruses, the attraction giant viruses exert on the scientific community and beyond continues to grow. Yet, they still hold surprises. Indeed, the recent identification of mirusviruses connects giant viruses to herpesviruses, each belonging to distinct viral realms. This discovery substantially broadens the evolutionary landscape of Nucleocytoviricota. Undoubtedly, the years to come will reveal their share of surprises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Gaïa
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ. Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91000 Evry, France
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/Tara GOSEE, 75012 Paris, France
| | - Patrick Forterre
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
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18
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Zhou Z, Martin C, Kosmopoulos JC, Anantharaman K. ViWrap: A modular pipeline to identify, bin, classify, and predict viral-host relationships for viruses from metagenomes. IMETA 2023; 2:e118. [PMID: 38152703 PMCID: PMC10751022 DOI: 10.1002/imt2.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Viruses are increasingly being recognized as important components of human and environmental microbiomes. However, viruses in microbiomes remain difficult to study because of the difficulty in culturing them and the lack of sufficient model systems. As a result, computational methods for identifying and analyzing uncultivated viral genomes from metagenomes have attracted significant attention. Such bioinformatics approaches facilitate the screening of viruses from enormous sequencing datasets originating from various environments. Though many tools and databases have been developed for advancing the study of viruses from metagenomes, there is a lack of integrated tools enabling a comprehensive workflow and analyses platform encompassing all the diverse segments of virus studies. Here, we developed ViWrap, a modular pipeline written in Python. ViWrap combines the power of multiple tools into a single platform to enable various steps of virus analysis, including identification, annotation, genome binning, species- and genus-level clustering, assignment of taxonomy, prediction of hosts, characterization of genome quality, comprehensive summaries, and intuitive visualization of results. Overall, ViWrap enables a standardized and reproducible pipeline for both extensive and stringent characterization of viruses from metagenomes, viromes, and microbial genomes. Our approach has flexibility in using various options for diverse applications and scenarios, and its modular structure can be easily amended with additional functions as necessary. ViWrap is designed to be easily and widely used to study viruses in human and environmental systems. ViWrap is publicly available via GitHub (https://github.com/AnantharamanLab/ViWrap). A detailed description of the software, its usage, and interpretation of results can be found on the website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Zhou
- Department of BacteriologyUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
| | - Cody Martin
- Department of BacteriologyUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training ProgramUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
| | - James C. Kosmopoulos
- Department of BacteriologyUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training ProgramUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
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19
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Fromm A, Hevroni G, Vincent F, Schatz D, Martinez-Gutierrez CA, Aylward FO, Vardi A. Homing in on the rare virosphere reveals the native host of giant viruses. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.27.546645. [PMID: 37425953 PMCID: PMC10327091 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.27.546645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Giant viruses (phylum Nucleocytoviricota) are globally distributed in aquatic ecosystems1,2. They play major roles as evolutionary drivers of eukaryotic plankton3 and regulators of global biogeochemical cycles4. Recent metagenomic studies have significantly expanded the known diversity of marine giant viruses1,5-7, but we still lack fundamental knowledge about their native hosts, thereby hindering our understanding of their lifecycle and ecological importance. Here, we aim to discover the native hosts of giant viruses using a novel, sensitive single-cell metatranscriptomic approach. By applying this approach to natural plankton communities, we unraveled an active viral infection of several giant viruses, from multiple lineages, and identified their native hosts. We identify a rare lineage of giant virus (Imitervirales-07) infecting a minute population of protists (class Katablepharidaceae) and revealed the prevalence of highly expressed viral-encoded cell-fate regulation genes in infected cells. Further examination of this host-virus dynamics in a temporal resolution suggested this giant virus controls its host population demise. Our results demonstrate how single-cell metatranscriptomics is a sensitive approach for pairing viruses with their authentic hosts and studying their ecological significance in a culture-independent manner in the marine environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Fromm
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Gur Hevroni
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
- Current address: Google Geo, Israel
| | - Flora Vincent
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
- Current address: Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biological Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniella Schatz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Frank O. Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA 24061
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
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20
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Ha AD, Moniruzzaman M, Aylward FO. Assessing the biogeography of marine giant viruses in four oceanic transects. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:43. [PMID: 37120676 PMCID: PMC10148842 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00252-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota are ubiquitous in ocean waters and play important roles in shaping the dynamics of marine ecosystems. In this study, we leveraged the bioGEOTRACES metagenomic dataset collected across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to investigate the biogeography of these viruses in marine environments. We identified 330 viral genomes, including 212 in the order Imitervirales and 54 in the order Algavirales. We found that most viruses appeared to be prevalent in shallow waters (<150 m), and that viruses of the Mesomimiviridae (Imitervirales) and Prasinoviridae (Algavirales) are by far the most abundant and diverse groups in our survey. Five mesomimiviruses and one prasinovirus are particularly widespread in oligotrophic waters; annotation of these genomes revealed common stress response systems, photosynthesis-associated genes, and oxidative stress modulation genes that may be key to their broad distribution in the pelagic ocean. We identified a latitudinal pattern in viral diversity in one cruise that traversed the North and South Atlantic Ocean, with viral diversity peaking at high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Community analyses revealed three distinct Nucleocytoviricota communities across latitudes, categorized by latitudinal distance towards the equator. Our results contribute to the understanding of the biogeography of these viruses in marine systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh D Ha
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Mohammad Moniruzzaman
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
| | - Frank O Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Infectious Disease, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
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21
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Yuan L, Ju F. Potential Auxiliary Metabolic Capabilities and Activities Reveal Biochemical Impacts of Viruses in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:5485-5498. [PMID: 36947091 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Viruses influence biogeochemical cycles in oceans, freshwater, soil, and human gut through infection and by modulating virocell metabolism through virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (vAMGs). However, the geographical distribution, potential metabolic function, and engineering significance of vAMGs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) remain to be explored. Here, 752 single-contig viral genomes with high confidence, 510 of which belonged to Caudovirales, were recovered from the activated sludge metagenomes of 32 geographically distributed WWTPs. A total of 101 vAMGs involved in various metabolic pathways were identified, the most common of which were the queuosine biosynthesis genes folE, queD, and queE and the sulfur metabolism gene cysH. Phylogenetic analysis and virus-host relationship prediction revealed the probable evolutionary histories of vAMGs involved in carbon (acpP and prsA), nitrogen (amoC), sulfur (cysH), and phosphate (phoH) metabolism, which potentially mediate microbial carbon and nutrient cycling. Notably, 11 of the 38 (28.3%) vAMGs identified in the metagenomes with corresponding metatranscriptomes were transcriptionally expressed, implying an active functional state. This meta-analysis provides the first broad catalog of vAMGs in municipal WWTPs and how they may assist in the basic physiological reactions of their microbial hosts or nutrient cycling in the WWTPs, and therefore, may have important effects on the engineering of wastewater treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Yuan
- Environmental Science and Engineering Department, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Environmental Microbiome and Biotechnology Laboratory (EMBLab), Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
| | - Feng Ju
- Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Environmental Microbiome and Biotechnology Laboratory (EMBLab), Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China
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22
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Cai L, Weinbauer MG, Xie L, Zhang R. The smallest in the deepest: the enigmatic role of viruses in the deep biosphere. Natl Sci Rev 2023; 10:nwad009. [PMID: 36960220 PMCID: PMC10029852 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
It is commonly recognized that viruses control the composition, metabolism, and evolutionary trajectories of prokaryotic communities, with resulting vital feedback on ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling in a wide range of ecosystems. Although the deep biosphere has been estimated to be the largest reservoir for viruses and their prokaryotic hosts, the biology and ecology of viruses therein remain poorly understood. The deep virosphere is an enigmatic field of study in which many critical questions are still to be answered. Is the deep virosphere simply a repository for deeply preserved, non-functioning virus particles? Or are deep viruses infectious agents that can readily infect suitable hosts and subsequently shape microbial populations and nutrient cycling? Can the cellular content released by viral lysis, and even the organic structures of virions themselves, serve as the source of bioavailable nutrients for microbial activity in the deep biosphere as in other ecosystems? In this review, we synthesize our current knowledge of viruses in the deep biosphere and seek to identify topics with the potential for substantial discoveries in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanlan Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
- Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Markus G Weinbauer
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC, Université Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Villefranche BP28, France
| | - Le Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
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23
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Braga LPP, Schumacher RI. Awaking the dormant virome in the rhizosphere. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:2985-2999. [PMID: 36807953 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
The rhizosphere is a vital soil compartment providing key plant-beneficial functions. However, little is known about the mechanisms driving viral diversity in the rhizosphere. Viruses can establish lytic or lysogenic interactions with their bacterial hosts. In the latter, they assume a dormant state integrated in the host genome and can be awakened by different perturbations that impact host cell physiology, triggering a viral bloom, which is potentially a fundamental mechanism driving soil viral diversity, as 22%-68% of soil bacteria are predicted to harbour dormant viruses. Here we assessed the viral bloom response in rhizospheric viromes by exposing them to three contrasting soil perturbation agents: earthworms, herbicide and antibiotic pollutant. The viromes were next screened for rhizosphere-relevant genes and also used as inoculant on microcosms incubations to test their impacts on pristine microbiomes. Our results show that while post-perturbation viromes diverged from control conditions, viral communities exposed to both herbicide and antibiotic pollutant were more similar to each other than those influenced by earthworms. The latter also favoured an increase in viral populations harbouring genes involved in plant-beneficial functions. Post-perturbation viromes inoculated on soil microcosms changed the diversity of pristine microbiomes, suggesting that viromes are important components of the soil ecological memory driving eco-evolutionary processes that determine future microbiome trajectories according to past events. Our findings demonstrate that viromes are active players in the rhizosphere and need to be considered in efforts to understand and control the microbial processes towards sustainable crop production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas P P Braga
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Ecosystems and Global Change Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert I Schumacher
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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24
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Giant Virus Infection Signatures Are Modulated by Euphotic Zone Depth Strata and Iron Regimes of the Subantarctic Southern Ocean. mSystems 2023; 8:e0126022. [PMID: 36794943 PMCID: PMC10134803 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01260-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Viruses can alter the abundance, evolution, and metabolism of microorganisms in the ocean, playing a key role in water column biogeochemistry and global carbon cycles. Large efforts to measure the contribution of eukaryotic microorganisms (e.g., protists) to the marine food web have been made, yet the in situ activities of the ecologically relevant viruses that infect these organisms are not well characterized. Viruses within the phylum Nucleocytoviricota ("giant viruses") are known to infect a diverse range of ecologically relevant marine protists, yet how these viruses are influenced by environmental conditions remains under-characterized. By employing metatranscriptomic analyses of in situ microbial communities along a temporal and depth-resolved gradient, we describe the diversity of giant viruses at the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS), a site within the subpolar Southern Ocean. Using a phylogeny-guided taxonomic assessment of detected giant virus genomes and metagenome-assembled genomes, we observed depth-dependent structuring of divergent giant virus families mirroring dynamic physicochemical gradients in the stratified euphotic zone. Analyses of transcribed metabolic genes from giant viruses suggest viral metabolic reprogramming of hosts from the surface to a 200-m depth. Lastly, using on-deck incubations reflecting a gradient of iron availability, we show that modulating iron regimes influences the activity of giant viruses in the field. Specifically, we show enhanced infection signatures of giant viruses under both iron-replete and iron-limited conditions. Collectively, these results expand our understanding of how the water column's vertical biogeography and chemical surroundings affect an important group of viruses within the Southern Ocean. IMPORTANCE The biology and ecology of marine microbial eukaryotes is known to be constrained by oceanic conditions. In contrast, how viruses that infect this important group of organisms respond to environmental change is less well known, despite viruses being recognized as key microbial community members. Here, we address this gap in our understanding by characterizing the diversity and activity of "giant" viruses within an important region in the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean. Giant viruses are double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota and are known to infect a wide range of eukaryotic hosts. By employing a metatranscriptomics approach using both in situ samples and microcosm manipulations, we illuminated both the vertical biogeography and how changing iron availability affects this primarily uncultivated group of protist-infecting viruses. These results serve as a foundation for our understanding of how the open ocean water column structures the viral community, which can be used to guide models of the viral impact on marine and global biogeochemical cycling.
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25
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Zhou Z, Martin C, Kosmopoulos JC, Anantharaman K. ViWrap: A modular pipeline to identify, bin, classify, and predict viral-host relationships for viruses from metagenomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.30.526317. [PMID: 36778280 PMCID: PMC9915498 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.30.526317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Viruses are increasingly being recognized as important components of human and environmental microbiomes. However, viruses in microbiomes remain difficult to study because of difficulty in culturing them and the lack of sufficient model systems. As a result, computational methods for identifying and analyzing uncultivated viral genomes from metagenomes have attracted significant attention. Such bioinformatics approaches facilitate screening of viruses from enormous sequencing datasets originating from various environments. Though many tools and databases have been developed for advancing the study of viruses from metagenomes, there is a lack of integrated tools enabling a comprehensive workflow and analyses platform encompassing all the diverse segments of virus studies. Here, we developed ViWrap, a modular pipeline written in Python. ViWrap combines the power of multiple tools into a single platform to enable various steps of virus analysis including identification, annotation, genome binning, species- and genus-level clustering, assignment of taxonomy, prediction of hosts, characterization of genome quality, comprehensive summaries, and intuitive visualization of results. Overall, ViWrap enables a standardized and reproducible pipeline for both extensive and stringent characterization of viruses from metagenomes, viromes, and microbial genomes. Our approach has flexibility in using various options for diverse applications and scenarios, and its modular structure can be easily amended with additional functions as necessary. ViWrap is designed to be easily and widely used to study viruses in human and environmental systems. ViWrap is publicly available via GitHub (https://github.com/AnantharamanLab/ViWrap). A detailed description of the software, its usage, and interpretation of results can be found on the website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Zhou
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Cody Martin
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - James C. Kosmopoulos
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Karthik Anantharaman
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
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26
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Abundant and cosmopolitan lineage of cyanopodoviruses lacking a DNA polymerase gene. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:252-262. [PMID: 36357781 PMCID: PMC9860041 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01340-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Cyanopodoviruses affect the mortality and population dynamics of the unicellular picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, the dominant primary producers in the oceans. Known cyanopodoviruses all contain the DNA polymerase gene (DNA pol) that is important for phage DNA replication and widely used in field quantification and diversity studies. However, we isolated 18 cyanopodoviruses without identifiable DNA pol. They form a new MPP-C clade that was separated from the existing MPP-A, MPP-B, and P-RSP2 clades. The MPP-C phages have the smallest genomes (37.3-37.9 kb) among sequenced cyanophages, and show longer latent periods than the MPP-B phages. Metagenomic reads of both clades are highly abundant in surface waters, but the MPP-C phages show higher relative abundance in surface waters than in deeper waters, while MPP-B phages have higher relative abundance in deeper waters. Our study reveals that cyanophages with distinct genomic contents and infection kinetics can exhibit different depth profiles in the oceans.
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27
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Ha AD, Moniruzzaman M, Aylward FO. Assessing the biogeography of marine giant viruses in four oceanic transects. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.30.526306. [PMID: 36778472 PMCID: PMC9915497 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.30.526306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota are ubiquitous in ocean waters and play important roles in shaping the dynamics of marine ecosystems. In this study, we leveraged the bioGEOTRACES metagenomic dataset collected across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to investigate the biogeography of these viruses in marine environments. We identified 330 viral genomes, including 212 in the order Imitervirales and 54 in the order Algavirales . We found that most viruses appeared to be prevalent in shallow waters (<150 meters), and that viruses of the Mesomimiviridae ( Imitervirales ) and Prasinoviridae ( Algavirales ) are by far the most abundant and diverse groups in our survey. Five mesomimiviruses and one prasinovirus are particularly widespread in oligotrophic waters; annotation of these genomes revealed common stress response systems, photosynthesis-associated genes, and oxidative stress modulation that may be key to their broad distribution in the pelagic ocean. We identified a latitudinal pattern in viral diversity in one cruise that traversed the North and South Atlantic Ocean, with viral diversity peaking at high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Community analyses revealed three distinct Nucleocytoviricota communities across latitudes, categorized by latitudinal distance towards the equator. Our results contribute to the understanding of the biogeography of these viruses in marine systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh D. Ha
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA, 24061
| | - Mohammad Moniruzzaman
- Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables FL 33149
| | - Frank O. Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA, 24061
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Infectious Disease, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA, 24061
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28
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Vincent F, Gralka M, Schleyer G, Schatz D, Cabrera-Brufau M, Kuhlisch C, Sichert A, Vidal-Melgosa S, Mayers K, Barak-Gavish N, Flores JM, Masdeu-Navarro M, Egge JK, Larsen A, Hehemann JH, Marrasé C, Simó R, Cordero OX, Vardi A. Viral infection switches the balance between bacterial and eukaryotic recyclers of organic matter during coccolithophore blooms. Nat Commun 2023; 14:510. [PMID: 36720878 PMCID: PMC9889395 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36049-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Algal blooms are hotspots of marine primary production and play central roles in microbial ecology and global elemental cycling. Upon demise of the bloom, organic carbon is partly respired and partly transferred to either higher trophic levels, bacterial biomass production or sinking. Viral infection can lead to bloom termination, but its impact on the fate of carbon remains largely unquantified. Here, we characterize the interplay between viral infection and the composition of a bloom-associated microbiome and consequently the evolving biogeochemical landscape, by conducting a large-scale mesocosm experiment where we monitor seven induced coccolithophore blooms. The blooms show different degrees of viral infection and reveal that only high levels of viral infection are followed by significant shifts in the composition of free-living bacterial and eukaryotic assemblages. Intriguingly, upon viral infection the biomass of eukaryotic heterotrophs (thraustochytrids) rivals that of bacteria as potential recyclers of organic matter. By combining modeling and quantification of active viral infection at a single-cell resolution, we estimate that viral infection causes a 2-4 fold increase in per-cell rates of extracellular carbon release in the form of acidic polysaccharides and particulate inorganic carbon, two major contributors to carbon sinking into the deep ocean. These results reveal the impact of viral infection on the fate of carbon through microbial recyclers of organic matter in large-scale coccolithophore blooms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flora Vincent
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.,Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biological Laboratory, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Matti Gralka
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02145, MA, USA.,Systems Biology Lab, Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-Life)/Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Guy Schleyer
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Daniella Schatz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Constanze Kuhlisch
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Andreas Sichert
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02145, MA, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Silvia Vidal-Melgosa
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359, Bremen, Germany.,Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Kyle Mayers
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, 5008, Bergen, Norway
| | - Noa Barak-Gavish
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - J Michel Flores
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Jorun Karin Egge
- Department of Biological Sciences (BIO), University of Bergen, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Aud Larsen
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, 5008, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Biological Sciences (BIO), University of Bergen, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jan-Hendrik Hehemann
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359, Bremen, Germany.,Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Celia Marrasé
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rafel Simó
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Otto X Cordero
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02145, MA, USA
| | - Assaf Vardi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
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29
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Kavagutti VS, Bulzu PA, Chiriac CM, Salcher MM, Mukherjee I, Shabarova T, Grujčić V, Mehrshad M, Kasalický V, Andrei AS, Jezberová J, Seďa J, Rychtecký P, Znachor P, Šimek K, Ghai R. High-resolution metagenomic reconstruction of the freshwater spring bloom. MICROBIOME 2023; 11:15. [PMID: 36698172 PMCID: PMC9878933 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01451-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The phytoplankton spring bloom in freshwater habitats is a complex, recurring, and dynamic ecological spectacle that unfolds at multiple biological scales. Although enormous taxonomic shifts in microbial assemblages during and after the bloom have been reported, genomic information on the microbial community of the spring bloom remains scarce. RESULTS We performed a high-resolution spatio-temporal sampling of the spring bloom in a freshwater reservoir and describe a multitude of previously unknown taxa using metagenome-assembled genomes of eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and viruses in combination with a broad array of methodologies. The recovered genomes reveal multiple distributional dynamics for several bacterial groups with progressively increasing stratification. Analyses of abundances of metagenome-assembled genomes in concert with CARD-FISH revealed remarkably similar in situ doubling time estimates for dominant genome-streamlined microbial lineages. Discordance between quantitations of cryptophytes arising from sequence data and microscopic identification suggested the presence of hidden, yet extremely abundant aplastidic cryptophytes that were confirmed by CARD-FISH analyses. Aplastidic cryptophytes are prevalent throughout the water column but have never been considered in prior models of plankton dynamics. We also recovered the first metagenomic-assembled genomes of freshwater protists (a diatom and a haptophyte) along with thousands of giant viral genomic contigs, some of which appeared similar to viruses infecting haptophytes but owing to lack of known representatives, most remained without any indication of their hosts. The contrasting distribution of giant viruses that are present in the entire water column to that of parasitic perkinsids residing largely in deeper waters allows us to propose giant viruses as the biological agents of top-down control and bloom collapse, likely in combination with bottom-up factors like a nutrient limitation. CONCLUSION We reconstructed thousands of genomes of microbes and viruses from a freshwater spring bloom and show that such large-scale genome recovery allows tracking of planktonic succession in great detail. However, integration of metagenomic information with other methodologies (e.g., microscopy, CARD-FISH) remains critical to reveal diverse phenomena (e.g., distributional patterns, in situ doubling times) and novel participants (e.g., aplastidic cryptophytes) and to further refine existing ecological models (e.g., factors affecting bloom collapse). This work provides a genomic foundation for future approaches towards a fine-scale characterization of the organisms in relation to the rapidly changing environment during the course of the freshwater spring bloom. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinicius S Kavagutti
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Paul-Adrian Bulzu
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Cecilia M Chiriac
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela M Salcher
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Indranil Mukherjee
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Tanja Shabarova
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Vesna Grujčić
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Present address: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maliheh Mehrshad
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Present address: Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Vojtěch Kasalický
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Adrian-Stefan Andrei
- Limnological Station, Microbial Evogenomics Lab (MiEL), University of Zurich, Kilchberg, Switzerland
| | - Jitka Jezberová
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jaromir Seďa
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Rychtecký
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Znachor
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Šimek
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Rohit Ghai
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
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30
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Abstract
Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the ocean and infect a wide range of microbial life across bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. In this essay, we take a journey across several orders of magnitude in the scales of biological organization, time, and space of host-virus interactions in the ocean, aiming to shed light on their ecological relevance. We start from viruses infecting microbial host cells by delivering their genetic material in seconds across nanometer-size membranes, which highjack their host's metabolism in a few minutes to hours, leading to a profound transcriptomic and metabolic rewiring. The outcome of lytic infection leads to a release of virions and signaling molecules that can reach neighboring cells a few millimeters away, resulting in a population whose heterogeneous infection level impacts the surrounding community for days. These population dynamics can leave unique metabolic and biogeochemical fingerprints across scales of kilometers and over several decades. One of the biggest challenges in marine microbiology is to assess the impact of viruses across these scales, from the single cell to the ecosystem level. Here, we argue that the advent of new methodologies and conceptual frameworks represents an exciting time to pursue these efforts and propose a set of important challenges for the field. A better understanding of host-virus interactions across scales will inform models of global ocean ecosystem function in different climate change scenarios.
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W B Jr M, A S R, P M, F B. Cellular and Natural Viral Engineering in Cognition-Based Evolution. Commun Integr Biol 2023; 16:2196145. [PMID: 37153718 PMCID: PMC10155641 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2023.2196145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Neo-Darwinism conceptualizes evolution as the continuous succession of predominately random genetic variations disciplined by natural selection. In that frame, the primary interaction between cells and the virome is relegated to host-parasite dynamics governed by selective influences. Cognition-Based Evolution regards biological and evolutionary development as a reciprocating cognition-based informational interactome for the protection of self-referential cells. To sustain cellular homeorhesis, cognitive cells collaborate to assess the validity of ambiguous biological information. That collective interaction involves coordinate measurement, communication, and active deployment of resources as Natural Cellular Engineering. These coordinated activities drive multicellularity, biological development, and evolutionary change. The virome participates as the vital intercessory among the cellular domains to ensure their shared permanent perpetuation. The interactions between the virome and the cellular domains represent active virocellular cross-communications for the continual exchange of resources. Modular genetic transfers between viruses and cells carry bioactive potentials. Those exchanges are deployed as nonrandom flexible tools among the domains in their continuous confrontation with environmental stresses. This alternative framework fundamentally shifts our perspective on viral-cellular interactions, strengthening established principles of viral symbiogenesis. Pathogenesis can now be properly appraised as one expression of a range of outcomes between cells and viruses within a larger conceptual framework of Natural Viral Engineering as a co-engineering participant with cells. It is proposed that Natural Viral Engineering should be viewed as a co-existent facet of Natural Cellular Engineering within Cognition-Based Evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miller W B Jr
- Banner Health Systems - Medicine, Paradise Valley, Arizona, AZ, USA
- CONTACT Miller W B Jr Paradise Valley, Arizona, AZ85253, USA
| | - Reber A S
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Marshall P
- Department of Engineering, Evolution 2.0, Oak Park, IL, USA
| | - Baluška F
- Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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Luo XQ, Wang P, Li JL, Ahmad M, Duan L, Yin LZ, Deng QQ, Fang BZ, Li SH, Li WJ. Viral community-wide auxiliary metabolic genes differ by lifestyles, habitats, and hosts. MICROBIOME 2022; 10:190. [PMID: 36333738 PMCID: PMC9636769 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01384-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Viral-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) are important toolkits for modulating their hosts' metabolisms and the microbial-driven biogeochemical cycles. Although the functions of AMGs have been extensively reported in numerous environments, we still know little about the drivers that shape the viral community-wide AMG compositions in natural ecosystems. Exploring the drivers of viral community-wide AMG compositions is critical for a deeper understanding of the complex interplays among viruses, hosts, and the environments. RESULTS Here, we investigated the impact of viral lifestyles (i.e., lytic and lysogenic), habitats (i.e., water, particle, and sediment), and prokaryotic hosts on viral AMG profiles by utilizing metagenomic and metatranscriptomic techniques. We found that viral lifestyles were the most important drivers, followed by habitats and host identities. Specifically, irrespective of what habitats viruses came from, lytic viruses exhibited greater AMG diversity and tended to encode AMGs for chaperone biosynthesis, signaling proteins, and lipid metabolism, which could boost progeny reproduction, whereas temperate viruses were apt to encode AMGs for host survivability. Moreover, the lytic and temperate viral communities tended to mediate the microbial-driven biogeochemical cycles, especially nitrogen metabolism, in different manners via AMGs. When focusing on each lifestyle, we further found clear dissimilarity in AMG compositions between water and sediment, as well the divergent AMGs encoded by viruses infecting different host orders. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our study provides a first systematic characterization of the drivers of viral community-wide AMG compositions and further expands our knowledge of the distinct interactions of lytic and temperate viruses with their prokaryotic hosts from an AMG perspective, which is critical for understanding virus-host-environment interactions in natural conditions. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Qing Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Pandeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China.
- School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jia-Ling Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Manzoor Ahmad
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Ling-Zi Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi-Qi Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Bao-Zhu Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, People's Republic of China
| | - Shan-Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China
| | - Wen-Jun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China.
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, People's Republic of China.
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Zhang E, Gao J, Wei Z, Zeng J, Li J, Li G, Liu J. MicroRNA-mediated regulation of lipid metabolism in virus-infected Emiliania huxleyi. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:2457-2466. [PMID: 35869388 PMCID: PMC9561107 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01291-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The interactions between Emiliania huxleyi and E. huxleyi virus (EhV) regulate marine carbon and sulfur biogeochemical cycles and play a prominent role in global climate change. As a large DNA virus, EhV has developed a novel "virocell metabolism" model to meet its high metabolic needs. Although it has been widely demonstrated that EhV infection can profoundly rewire lipid metabolism, the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of lipid metabolism are still obscure. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate biological pathways by targeting hub genes in the metabolic processes. In this study, the transcriptome, lipidome, and miRNAome were applied to investigate the epigenetic regulation of lipid metabolism in E. huxleyi cells during a detailed time course of viral infection. Combined transcriptomic, lipidomic, and physiological experiments revealed reprogrammed lipid metabolism, along with mitochondrial dysfunction and calcium influx through the cell membrane. A total of 69 host miRNAs (including 1 known miRNA) and 7 viral miRNAs were identified, 27 of which were differentially expressed. Bioinformatic prediction revealed that miRNAs involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and a dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) gene might be a target of ehx-miR5. Further qPCR and western blot analysis showed a significant negative correlation between the expression of ehx-miR5 and its target gene PI3K, along with the lower activity of its downstream components (p-Akt, p-TOR, SREBP), indicating that lipid metabolism might be regulated by ehx-miR5 through the PI3K-Akt-TOR signaling pathway. Our findings reveal several novel mechanisms of viral strategies to manipulate host lipid metabolism and provide evidence that ehx-miR5 negatively modulates the expression of PI3K and disturbs lipid metabolism in the interactions between E. huxleyi and EhV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enquan Zhang
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
| | - Jingjing Gao
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
| | - Zehua Wei
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
| | - Jun Zeng
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
| | - Jian Li
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
| | - Guiling Li
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China.
| | - Jingwen Liu
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China.
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Viruses direct carbon cycling in lake sediments under global change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202261119. [PMID: 36206369 PMCID: PMC9564219 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202261119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Global change is altering the vast amount of carbon cycled by microbes between land and freshwater, but how viruses mediate this process is poorly understood. Here, we show that viruses direct carbon cycling in lake sediments, and these impacts intensify with future changes in water clarity and terrestrial organic matter (tOM) inputs. Using experimental tOM gradients within sediments of a clear and a dark boreal lake, we identified 156 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), of which 21% strongly increased with abundances of key bacteria and archaea, identified via metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). MAGs included the most abundant prokaryotes, which were themselves associated with dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition and greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. Increased abundances of virus-like particles were separately associated with reduced bacterial metabolism and with shifts in DOM toward amino sugars, likely released by cell lysis rather than higher molecular mass compounds accumulating from reduced tOM degradation. An additional 9.6% of vOTUs harbored auxiliary metabolic genes associated with DOM and GHGs. Taken together, these different effects on host dynamics and metabolism can explain why abundances of vOTUs rather than MAGs were better overall predictors of carbon cycling. Future increases in tOM quantity, but not quality, will change viral composition and function with consequences for DOM pools. Given their importance, viruses must now be explicitly considered in efforts to understand and predict the freshwater carbon cycle and its future under global environmental change.
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Howard-Varona C, Roux S, Bowen BP, Silva LP, Lau R, Schwenck SM, Schwartz S, Woyke T, Northen T, Sullivan MB, Floge SA. Protist impacts on marine cyanovirocell metabolism. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 2:94. [PMID: 37938263 PMCID: PMC9723779 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-022-00169-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
The fate of oceanic carbon and nutrients depends on interactions between viruses, prokaryotes, and unicellular eukaryotes (protists) in a highly interconnected planktonic food web. To date, few controlled mechanistic studies of these interactions exist, and where they do, they are largely pairwise, focusing either on viral infection (i.e., virocells) or protist predation. Here we studied population-level responses of Synechococcus cyanobacterial virocells (i.e., cyanovirocells) to the protist Oxyrrhis marina using transcriptomics, endo- and exo-metabolomics, photosynthetic efficiency measurements, and microscopy. Protist presence had no measurable impact on Synechococcus transcripts or endometabolites. The cyanovirocells alone had a smaller intracellular transcriptional and metabolic response than cyanovirocells co-cultured with protists, displaying known patterns of virus-mediated metabolic reprogramming while releasing diverse exometabolites during infection. When protists were added, several exometabolites disappeared, suggesting microbial consumption. In addition, the intracellular cyanovirocell impact was largest, with 4.5- and 10-fold more host transcripts and endometabolites, respectively, responding to protists, especially those involved in resource and energy production. Physiologically, photosynthetic efficiency also increased, and together with the transcriptomics and metabolomics findings suggest that cyanovirocell metabolic demand is highest when protists are present. These data illustrate cyanovirocell responses to protist presence that are not yet considered when linking microbial physiology to global-scale biogeochemical processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon Roux
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- U.S. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Leslie P Silva
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Syft Technologies, Ltd, Christchurch, 8024, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca Lau
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sarah M Schwenck
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Microbial and Environmental Genomics, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Samuel Schwartz
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC, USA
| | - Tanja Woyke
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- U.S. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Trent Northen
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- U.S. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, and Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
| | - Sheri A Floge
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
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Pu L, Shamir R. 3CAC: improving the classification of phages and plasmids in metagenomic assemblies using assembly graphs. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:ii56-ii61. [PMID: 36124804 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Bacteriophages and plasmids usually coexist with their host bacteria in microbial communities and play important roles in microbial evolution. Accurately identifying sequence contigs as phages, plasmids and bacterial chromosomes in mixed metagenomic assemblies is critical for further unraveling their functions. Many classification tools have been developed for identifying either phages or plasmids in metagenomic assemblies. However, only two classifiers, PPR-Meta and viralVerify, were proposed to simultaneously identify phages and plasmids in mixed metagenomic assemblies. Due to the very high fraction of chromosome contigs in the assemblies, both tools achieve high precision in the classification of chromosomes but perform poorly in classifying phages and plasmids. Short contigs in these assemblies are often wrongly classified or classified as uncertain. RESULTS Here we present 3CAC, a new three-class classifier that improves the precision of phage and plasmid classification. 3CAC starts with an initial three-class classification generated by existing classifiers and improves the classification of short contigs and contigs with low confidence classification by using proximity in the assembly graph. Evaluation on simulated metagenomes and on real human gut microbiome samples showed that 3CAC outperformed PPR-Meta and viralVerify in both precision and recall, and increased F1-score by 10-60 percentage points. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The 3CAC software is available on https://github.com/Shamir-Lab/3CAC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianrong Pu
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Ron Shamir
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
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The Life Cycle Transitions of Temperate Phages: Regulating Factors and Potential Ecological Implications. Viruses 2022; 14:v14091904. [PMID: 36146712 PMCID: PMC9502458 DOI: 10.3390/v14091904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Phages are viruses that infect bacteria. They affect various microbe-mediated processes that drive biogeochemical cycling on a global scale. Their influence depends on whether the infection is lysogenic or lytic. Temperate phages have the potential to execute both infection types and thus frequently switch their infection modes in nature, potentially causing substantial impacts on the host-phage community and relevant biogeochemical cycling. Understanding the regulating factors and outcomes of temperate phage life cycle transition is thus fundamental for evaluating their ecological impacts. This review thus systematically summarizes the effects of various factors affecting temperate phage life cycle decisions in both culturable phage-host systems and natural environments. The review further elucidates the ecological implications of the life cycle transition of temperate phages with an emphasis on phage/host fitness, host-phage dynamics, microbe diversity and evolution, and biogeochemical cycles.
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Wu M, Zhao X, Zhu X, Shi J, Liu L, Wang X, Xie M, Ma C, Hu Y, Sun J. Functional analysis and expression profile of human platelets infected by EBV in vitro. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2022; 102:105312. [PMID: 35667565 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Platelet activation is commonly detected after infection by multiple viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), H1N1 influenza, Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Ebola virus (EBV), and Dengue virus (DENV). Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) constitute the majority of the human transcribed genome, but the biology of platelet ncRNAs is largely unexplored. In this study, we performed microarray profiling to characterize the expression profile of human platelets infected with EBV in vitro after 2 h. A total of 187 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) displayed differences, of which 114 were upregulated and 73 were downregulated; 78 microRNAs (miRNAs) showed differences, including 73 upregulated and 5 downregulated; 808 mRNAs displayed differences, among which 367 were upregulated and 441 were downregulated. Gene ontology (GO) analysis mostly related to G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway, detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of smell and regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in cell metabolism and immune-related response. A ceRNA network was established based on predicting regulatory pairs in differentially expressed genes, in which hsa-miR-6877-3p had the highest regulatory capability (degree = 31), FAM230A was the lncRNA with the highest regulatory capability (degree = 28). According to the EBV related miRNA regulation network, it revealed that ebv-miR-BART19-3p had the most target genes and BRWD1, FAM126B, TFRC and JMY were the genes most regulated by EBV-related miRNAs. After overlapping the three networks, we found that the EIFAK2 gene was strongly correlated with autologous ncRNAs, including hsa-miR-1972, hsa-miR-504-3p and hsa-miR-6825-5p, as well as with EBV ncRNAs, including EBER1, EBER2, miR-BART7-3p and miR-BART16. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the expression profiling of ncRNAs and their functions in platelets activated by EBV in vitro, and paves the way to further study on platelet function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meini Wu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Xiutao Zhao
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China; Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaoli Zhu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China; Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Jiandong Shi
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Lijun Liu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China; Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Mengxin Xie
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Chunli Ma
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Yunzhang Hu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China.
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Aylward FO, Moniruzzaman M. Viral Complexity. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081061. [PMID: 36008955 PMCID: PMC9405923 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although traditionally viewed as streamlined and simple, discoveries over the last century have revealed that viruses can exhibit surprisingly complex physical structures, genomic organization, ecological interactions, and evolutionary histories. Viruses can have physical dimensions and genome lengths that exceed many cellular lineages, and their infection strategies can involve a remarkable level of physiological remodeling of their host cells. Virus–virus communication and widespread forms of hyperparasitism have been shown to be common in the virosphere, demonstrating that dynamic ecological interactions often shape their success. And the evolutionary histories of viruses are often fraught with complexities, with chimeric genomes including genes derived from numerous distinct sources or evolved de novo. Here we will discuss many aspects of this viral complexity, with particular emphasis on large DNA viruses, and provide an outlook for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank O. Aylward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Mohammad Moniruzzaman
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33149, USA;
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Brahim Belhaouari D, Pires De Souza GA, Lamb DC, Kelly SL, Goldstone JV, Stegeman JJ, Colson P, La Scola B, Aherfi S. Metabolic arsenal of giant viruses: Host hijack or self-use? eLife 2022; 11:e78674. [PMID: 35801640 PMCID: PMC9270025 DOI: 10.7554/elife.78674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses generally are defined as lacking the fundamental properties of living organisms in that they do not harbor an energy metabolism system or protein synthesis machinery. However, the discovery of giant viruses of amoeba has fundamentally challenged this view because of their exceptional genome properties, particle sizes and encoding of the enzyme machinery for some steps of protein synthesis. Although giant viruses are not able to replicate autonomously and still require a host for their multiplication, numerous metabolic genes involved in energy production have been recently detected in giant virus genomes from many environments. These findings have further blurred the boundaries that separate viruses and living organisms. Herein, we summarize information concerning genes and proteins involved in cellular metabolic pathways and their orthologues that have, surprisingly, been discovered in giant viruses. The remarkable diversity of metabolic genes described in giant viruses include genes encoding enzymes involved in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, photosynthesis, and β-oxidation. These viral genes are thought to have been acquired from diverse biological sources through lateral gene transfer early in the evolution of Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses, or in some cases more recently. It was assumed that viruses are capable of hijacking host metabolic networks. But the giant virus auxiliary metabolic genes also may represent another form of host metabolism manipulation, by expanding the catalytic capabilities of the host cells especially in harsh environments, providing the infected host cells with a selective evolutionary advantage compared to non-infected cells and hence favoring the viral replication. However, the mechanism of these genes' functionality remains unclear to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Djamal Brahim Belhaouari
- Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEPHI), UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
| | - Gabriel Augusto Pires De Souza
- Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEPHI), UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
| | - David C Lamb
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science, Swansea UniversitySwanseaUnited Kingdom
| | - Steven L Kelly
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science, Swansea UniversitySwanseaUnited Kingdom
| | - Jared V Goldstone
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleUnited States
| | - John J Stegeman
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleUnited States
| | - Philippe Colson
- Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEPHI), UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM)MarseilleFrance
| | - Bernard La Scola
- Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEPHI), UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM)MarseilleFrance
| | - Sarah Aherfi
- Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEPHI), UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM)MarseilleFrance
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Heinrichs ME, Heyerhoff B, Arslan-Gatz BS, Seidel M, Niggemann J, Engelen B. Deciphering the Virus Signal Within the Marine Dissolved Organic Matter Pool. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:863686. [PMID: 35694303 PMCID: PMC9184803 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.863686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses are ubiquitously distributed in the marine environment, influencing microbial population dynamics and biogeochemical cycles on a large scale. Due to their small size, they fall into the oceanographic size-class definition of dissolved organic matter (DOM; <0.7 μm). The purpose of our study was to investigate if there is a detectable imprint of virus particles in natural DOM following standard sample preparation and molecular analysis routines using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). Therefore, we tested if a molecular signature deriving from virus particles can be detected in the DOM fingerprint of a bacterial culture upon prophage induction and of seawater containing the natural microbial community. Interestingly, the virus-mediated lysate of the infected bacterial culture differed from the cell material of a physically disrupted control culture in its molecular composition. Overall, a small subset of DOM compounds correlated significantly with virus abundances in the bacterial culture setup, accounting for <1% of the detected molecular formulae and <2% of the total signal intensity of the DOM dataset. These were phosphorus- and nitrogen-containing compounds and they were partially also detected in DOM samples from other studies that included high virus abundances. While some of these formulae matched with typical biomolecules that are constituents of viruses, others matched with bacterial cell wall components. Thus, the identified DOM molecular formulae were probably not solely derived from virus particles but were partially also derived from processes such as the virus-mediated bacterial cell lysis. Our results indicate that a virus-derived DOM signature is part of the natural DOM and barely detectable within the analytical window of ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry when a high natural background is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara E. Heinrichs
- Benthic Microbiology Group, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Benedikt Heyerhoff
- Benthic Microbiology Group, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Berin S. Arslan-Gatz
- Benthic Microbiology Group, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Michael Seidel
- Research Group for Marine Geochemistry (ICBM-MPI Bridging Group), Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jutta Niggemann
- Research Group for Marine Geochemistry (ICBM-MPI Bridging Group), Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Bert Engelen
- Benthic Microbiology Group, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
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Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Cyanophage Encoding Multiple Auxiliary Metabolic Genes. Viruses 2022; 14:v14050887. [PMID: 35632629 PMCID: PMC9146016 DOI: 10.3390/v14050887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
As significant drivers of cyanobacteria mortality, cyanophages have been known to regulate the population dynamics, metabolic activities, and community structure of this most important marine autotrophic picoplankton and, therefore, influence the global primary production and biogeochemical cycle in aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, a lytic Synechococcus phage, namely S-SZBM1, was isolated and identified. Cyanophage S-SZBM1 has a double-stranded DNA genome of 177,834 bp with a G+C content of 43.31% and contains a total of 218 predicted ORFs and six tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis and nucleotide-based intergenomic similarity suggested that cyanophage S-SZBM1 belongs to a new genus under the family Kyanoviridae. A variety of auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) that have been proved or speculated to relate to photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, nucleotide synthesis and metabolism, cell protection, and other cell metabolism were identified in cyanophage S-SZBM1 genome and may affect host processes during infection. In addition, 24 of 32 predicted structural proteins were identified by a high-throughput proteome analysis which were potentially involved in the assembly processes of virion. The genomic and proteomic analysis features of cyanophage S-SZBM1 offer a valuable insight into the interactions between cyanophages and their hosts during infection.
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Record-Breaking Rain Event Altered Estuarine Viral Assemblages. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10040729. [PMID: 35456780 PMCID: PMC9025952 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10040729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Viruses are the dominant biological entity in the ocean, play a vital role in biogeochemical cycles, and provide their hosts with novel metabolic capabilities through auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs). Hurricane Harvey was a category 4 hurricane that made landfall on the Texas coast in 2017 and lashed the Houston area with 1.4–1.7 × 1010 m3 of rainfall. In this paper, we aim to characterize how the changes in abiotic conditions brought by Hurricane Harvey altered the viral assemblages of Galveston Bay at the taxonomic level and determine how viral ecosystem functions were altered. Metagenomes of the viruses and their hosts were sequenced from a transect in Galveston Bay over the five weeks following the storm. Our results show that the viral assemblages of Galveston Bay dramatically changed following Hurricane Harvey’s landfall. Of the abiotic parameters measured, salinity had the strongest effect on shaping the viral assemblages. In the five weeks following Hurricane Harvey, there was a steady increase of metabolic genes and putative viral infections. Our study provides the first in-depth look at how marine viral assemblages respond and recover from extreme rainfall events, which models predict will become more frequent and intense with climate change.
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Jang HB, Chittick L, Li YF, Zablocki O, Sanderson CM, Carrillo A, van den Engh G, Sullivan MB. Viral tag and grow: a scalable approach to capture and characterize infectious virus-host pairs. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 2:12. [PMID: 37938680 PMCID: PMC9723727 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-022-00093-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Viral metagenomics (viromics) has reshaped our understanding of DNA viral diversity, ecology, and evolution across Earth's ecosystems. However, viromics now needs approaches to link newly discovered viruses to their host cells and characterize them at scale. This study adapts one such method, sequencing-enabled viral tagging (VT), to establish "Viral Tag and Grow" (VT + Grow) to rapidly capture and characterize viruses that infect a cultivated target bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas. First, baseline cytometric and microscopy data improved understanding of how infection conditions and host physiology impact populations in VT flow cytograms. Next, we extensively evaluated "and grow" capability to assess where VT signals reflect adsorption alone or wholly successful infections that lead to lysis. Third, we applied VT + Grow to a clonal virus stock, which, coupled to traditional plaque assays, revealed significant variability in burst size-findings that hint at a viral "individuality" parallel to the microbial phenotypic heterogeneity literature. Finally, we established a live protocol for public comment and improvement via protocols.io to maximally empower the research community. Together these efforts provide a robust foundation for VT researchers, and establish VT + Grow as a promising scalable technology to capture and characterize viruses from mixed community source samples that infect cultivable bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ho Bin Jang
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Lauren Chittick
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yueh-Fen Li
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Olivier Zablocki
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Alfonso Carrillo
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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45
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Marine viruses and climate change: Virioplankton, the carbon cycle, and our future ocean. Adv Virus Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2022.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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46
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Bolduc B, Zablocki O, Guo J, Zayed AA, Vik D, Dehal P, Wood-Charlson EM, Arkin A, Merchant N, Pett-Ridge J, Roux S, Vaughn M, Sullivan MB. iVirus 2.0: Cyberinfrastructure-supported tools and data to power DNA virus ecology. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2021; 1:77. [PMID: 36765102 PMCID: PMC9723767 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-021-00083-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Microbes drive myriad ecosystem processes, but under strong influence from viruses. Because studying viruses in complex systems requires different tools than those for microbes, they remain underexplored. To combat this, we previously aggregated double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus analysis capabilities and resources into 'iVirus' on the CyVerse collaborative cyberinfrastructure. Here we substantially expand iVirus's functionality and accessibility, to iVirus 2.0, as follows. First, core iVirus apps were integrated into the Department of Energy's Systems Biology KnowledgeBase (KBase) to provide an additional analytical platform. Second, at CyVerse, 20 software tools (apps) were upgraded or added as new tools and capabilities. Third, nearly 20-fold more sequence reads were aggregated to capture new data and environments. Finally, documentation, as "live" protocols, was updated to maximize user interaction with and contribution to infrastructure development. Together, iVirus 2.0 serves as a uniquely central and accessible analytical platform for studying how viruses, particularly dsDNA viruses, impact diverse microbial ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Bolduc
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, Columbus, OH, USA
- EMERGE Biology Integration Institute, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Olivier Zablocki
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, Columbus, OH, USA
- EMERGE Biology Integration Institute, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Jiarong Guo
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, Columbus, OH, USA
- EMERGE Biology Integration Institute, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Ahmed A Zayed
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center of Microbiome Science, Columbus, OH, USA
- EMERGE Biology Integration Institute, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Dean Vik
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Paramvir Dehal
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Elisha M Wood-Charlson
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Adam Arkin
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Pett-Ridge
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
- Life & Environmental Sciences Department, University of California Merced, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Simon Roux
- DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Matthew Vaughn
- Texas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Center of Microbiome Science, Columbus, OH, USA.
- EMERGE Biology Integration Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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47
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Zekri MA, Schagerl M, Schweichhart J, Lang I. Confocal microscopy reveals alterations of thylakoids in Limnospira fusiformis during prophage induction. PROTOPLASMA 2021; 258:1251-1259. [PMID: 33934216 PMCID: PMC8523472 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-021-01656-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The alkaliphilic cyanobacterium Limnospira fusiformis is an integral part in food webs of tropical soda lakes. Recently, sudden breakdowns of Limnospira sp. blooms in their natural environment have been linked to cyanophage infections. We studied ultrastructural details and prophage components in the laboratory by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For a comparison at the subcellular level, we included transmission electron microscopy (TEM) material of infected cells collected during a field survey. Compared to TEM, CLSM has the advantage to rapidly providing results for whole, intact cells. Moreover, many cells can be studied at once. We chemically induced lysogenic cyanophages by means of mitomycin C (MMC) treatments and studied the ultrastructural alterations of host cells. In parallel, the number of cyanophages was obtained by flow cytometry. After treatment of the culture with MMC, flow cytometry showed a strong increase in viral counts, i.e., prophage induction. CLSM reflected the re-organization of L. fusiformis with remarkable alterations of thylakoid arrangements after prophage induction. Our study provides a first step towards 3D visualization of ultrastructure of cyanobacteria and showed the high potential of CLSM to investigate viral-mediated modifications in these groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Alsadat Zekri
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Michael Schagerl
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Schweichhart
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ingeborg Lang
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
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48
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Trubl G, Kimbrel JA, Liquet-Gonzalez J, Nuccio EE, Weber PK, Pett-Ridge J, Jansson JK, Waldrop MP, Blazewicz SJ. Active virus-host interactions at sub-freezing temperatures in Arctic peat soil. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:208. [PMID: 34663463 PMCID: PMC8522061 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01154-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Winter carbon loss in northern ecosystems is estimated to be greater than the average growing season carbon uptake and is primarily driven by microbial decomposers. Viruses modulate microbial carbon cycling via induced mortality and metabolic controls, but it is unknown whether viruses are active under winter conditions (anoxic and sub-freezing temperatures). RESULTS We used stable isotope probing (SIP) targeted metagenomics to reveal the genomic potential of active soil microbial populations under simulated winter conditions, with an emphasis on viruses and virus-host dynamics. Arctic peat soils from the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site in Alaska were incubated under sub-freezing anoxic conditions with H218O or natural abundance water for 184 and 370 days. We sequenced 23 SIP-metagenomes and measured carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux throughout the experiment. We identified 46 bacterial populations (spanning 9 phyla) and 243 viral populations that actively took up 18O in soil and respired CO2 throughout the incubation. Active bacterial populations represented only a small portion of the detected microbial community and were capable of fermentation and organic matter degradation. In contrast, active viral populations represented a large portion of the detected viral community and one third were linked to active bacterial populations. We identified 86 auxiliary metabolic genes and other environmentally relevant genes. The majority of these genes were carried by active viral populations and had diverse functions such as carbon utilization and scavenging that could provide their host with a fitness advantage for utilizing much-needed carbon sources or acquiring essential nutrients. CONCLUSIONS Overall, there was a stark difference in the identity and function of the active bacterial and viral community compared to the unlabeled community that would have been overlooked with a non-targeted standard metagenomic analysis. Our results illustrate that substantial active virus-host interactions occur in sub-freezing anoxic conditions and highlight viruses as a major community-structuring agent that likely modulates carbon loss in peat soils during winter, which may be pivotal for understanding the future fate of arctic soils' vast carbon stocks. Video abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth Trubl
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
| | - Jeffrey A Kimbrel
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Jose Liquet-Gonzalez
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Erin E Nuccio
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Peter K Weber
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Pett-Ridge
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Janet K Jansson
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Mark P Waldrop
- U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Steven J Blazewicz
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
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49
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Bhattarai B, Bhattacharjee AS, Coutinho FH, Goel RK. Viruses and Their Interactions With Bacteria and Archaea of Hypersaline Great Salt Lake. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:701414. [PMID: 34650523 PMCID: PMC8506154 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.701414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Viruses play vital biogeochemical and ecological roles by (a) expressing auxiliary metabolic genes during infection, (b) enhancing the lateral transfer of host genes, and (c) inducing host mortality. Even in harsh and extreme environments, viruses are major players in carbon and nutrient recycling from organic matter. However, there is much that we do not yet understand about viruses and the processes mediated by them in the extreme environments such as hypersaline habitats. The Great Salt Lake (GSL) in Utah, United States is a hypersaline ecosystem where the biogeochemical role of viruses is poorly understood. This study elucidates the diversity of viruses and describes virus–host interactions in GSL sediments along a salinity gradient. The GSL sediment virosphere consisted of Haloviruses (32.07 ± 19.33%) and members of families Siphoviridae (39.12 ± 19.8%), Myoviridae (13.7 ± 6.6%), and Podoviridae (5.43 ± 0.64%). Our results demonstrate that salinity alongside the concentration of organic carbon and inorganic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) governs the viral, bacteria, and archaeal diversity in this habitat. Computational host predictions for the GSL viruses revealed a wide host range with a dominance of viruses that infect Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Identification of auxiliary metabolic genes for photosynthesis (psbA), carbon fixation (rbcL, cbbL), formaldehyde assimilation (SHMT), and nitric oxide reduction (NorQ) shed light on the roles played by GSL viruses in biogeochemical cycles of global relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bishav Bhattarai
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Ananda S Bhattacharjee
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Felipe H Coutinho
- Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Alicante, Spain
| | - Ramesh K Goel
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
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50
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Garneau JR, Legrand V, Marbouty M, Press MO, Vik DR, Fortier LC, Sullivan MB, Bikard D, Monot M. High-throughput identification of viral termini and packaging mechanisms in virome datasets using PhageTermVirome. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18319. [PMID: 34526611 PMCID: PMC8443750 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97867-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses that infect bacteria (phages) are increasingly recognized for their importance in diverse ecosystems but identifying and annotating them in large-scale sequence datasets is still challenging. Although efficient scalable virus identification tools are emerging, defining the exact ends (termini) of phage genomes is still particularly difficult. The proper identification of termini is crucial, as it helps in characterizing the packaging mechanism of bacteriophages and provides information on various aspects of phage biology. Here, we introduce PhageTermVirome (PTV) as a tool for the easy and rapid high-throughput determination of phage termini and packaging mechanisms using modern large-scale metagenomics datasets. We successfully tested the PTV algorithm on a mock virome dataset and then used it on two real virome datasets to achieve the rapid identification of more than 100 phage termini and packaging mechanisms, with just a few hours of computing time. Because PTV allows the identification of free fully formed viral particles (by recognition of termini present only in encapsidated DNA), it can also complement other virus identification softwares to predict the true viral origin of contigs in viral metagenomics datasets. PTV is a novel and unique tool for high-throughput characterization of phage genomes, including phage termini identification and characterization of genome packaging mechanisms. This software should help researchers better visualize, map and study the virosphere. PTV is freely available for downloading and installation at https://gitlab.pasteur.fr/vlegrand/ptv.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Véronique Legrand
- Infrastructure et Ingénierie Scientifique, Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Martial Marbouty
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Régulation Spatiale des Génomes, UMR 3525, CNRS, 75015, Paris, France
| | | | - Dean R Vik
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Louis-Charles Fortier
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1E 4K8, Canada
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - David Bikard
- Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, Groupe Biologie de Synthèse, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Marc Monot
- Biomics Platform, C2RT, Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France.
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