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Viruses in Extreme Environments, Current Overview, and Biotechnological Potential. Viruses 2021; 13:v13010081. [PMID: 33430116 PMCID: PMC7826561 DOI: 10.3390/v13010081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Virus research has advanced significantly since the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the characterization of its infection mechanisms and the factors that determine their pathogenicity. However, most viral research has focused on pathogenic viruses to humans, animals and plants, which represent only a small fraction in the virosphere. As a result, the role of most viral genes, and the mechanisms of coevolution between mutualistic viruses, their host and their environment, beyond pathogenicity, remain poorly understood. This review focuses on general aspects of viruses that interact with extremophile organisms, characteristics and examples of mechanisms of adaptation. Finally, this review provides an overview on how knowledge of extremophile viruses sheds light on the application of new tools of relevant use in modern molecular biology, discussing their value in a biotechnological context.
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Martinez-Hernandez F, Garcia-Heredia I, Lluesma Gomez M, Maestre-Carballa L, Martínez Martínez J, Martinez-Garcia M. Droplet Digital PCR for Estimating Absolute Abundances of Widespread Pelagibacter Viruses. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:1226. [PMID: 31244789 PMCID: PMC6581686 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Absolute abundances of prokaryotes are typically determined by FISH. Due to the lack of a universal conserved gene among all viruses, metagenomic fragment recruitment is commonly used to estimate the relative viral abundance. However, the paucity of absolute virus abundance data hinders our ability to fully understand how viruses drive global microbial populations. The cosmopolitan marine Pelagibacter ubique is host for the highly widespread HTVC010P pelagiphage isolate and the extremely abundant uncultured virus vSAG 37-F6 recently discovered by single-virus genomics. Here we applied droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to calculate the absolute abundance of these pelagiphage genotypes in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Maine. Abundances were between 360 and 8,510 virus mL-1 and 1,270–14,400 virus mL-1 for vSAG 37-F6 and HTVC010P, respectively. Illumina PCR-amplicon sequencing corroborated the absence of ddPCR non-specific amplifications for vSAG 37-F6, but showed an overestimation of 6% for HTVC010P from off-targets, genetically unrelated viruses. Absolute abundances of both pelagiphages, two of the most abundance marine viruses, suggest a large viral pelagiphage diversity in marine environments, and show the efficiency and power of ddPCR to disentangle the structure of marine viral communities. Results also highlight the need for a standardized workflow to obtain accurate quantification that allows cross data comparison.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Monica Lluesma Gomez
- Department of Physiology, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Lucia Maestre-Carballa
- Department of Physiology, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | | | - Manuel Martinez-Garcia
- Department of Physiology, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
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Nissimov JI, Talmy D, Haramaty L, Fredricks HF, Zelzion E, Knowles B, Eren AM, Vandzura R, Laber CP, Schieler BM, Johns CT, More KD, Coolen MJL, Follows MJ, Bhattacharya D, Van Mooy BAS, Bidle KD. Biochemical diversity of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis as a driver of Coccolithovirus competitive ecology. Environ Microbiol 2019; 21:2182-2197. [PMID: 31001863 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Coccolithoviruses (EhVs) are large, double-stranded DNA-containing viruses that infect the single-celled, marine coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Given the cosmopolitan nature and global importance of E. huxleyi as a bloom-forming, calcifying, photoautotroph, E. huxleyi-EhV interactions play a key role in oceanic carbon biogeochemistry. Virally-encoded glycosphingolipids (vGSLs) are virulence factors that are produced by the activity of virus-encoded serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT). Here, we characterize the dynamics, diversity and catalytic production of vGSLs in an array of EhV strains in relation to their SPT sequence composition and explore the hypothesis that they are a determinant of infectivity and host demise. vGSL production and diversity was positively correlated with increased virulence, virus replication rate and lytic infection dynamics in laboratory experiments, but they do not explain the success of less-virulent EhVs in natural EhV communities. The majority of EhV-derived SPT amplicon sequences associated with infected cells in the North Atlantic derived from slower infecting, less virulent EhVs. Our lab-, field- and mathematical model-based data and simulations support ecological scenarios whereby slow-infecting, less-virulent EhVs successfully compete in North Atlantic populations of E. huxleyi, through either the preferential removal of fast-infecting, virulent EhVs during active infection or by having access to a broader host range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jozef I Nissimov
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.,Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Argyll, PA37 1QA, Scotland, UK
| | - David Talmy
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Liti Haramaty
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Helen F Fredricks
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Ehud Zelzion
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Ben Knowles
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - A Murat Eren
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Josephine Bay Paul Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA.,Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Rebecca Vandzura
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Christien P Laber
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Brittany M Schieler
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Christopher T Johns
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Kuldeep D More
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Marco J L Coolen
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Michael J Follows
- Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Benjamin A S Van Mooy
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Kay D Bidle
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
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Nissimov JI, Vandzura R, Johns CT, Natale F, Haramaty L, Bidle KD. Dynamics of transparent exopolymer particle production and aggregation during viral infection of the coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi. Environ Microbiol 2018; 20:2880-2897. [PMID: 29921002 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Emiliania huxleyi produces calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) coccoliths and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), sticky, acidic carbohydrates that facilitate aggregation. E. huxleyi's extensive oceanic blooms are often terminated by coccolithoviruses (EhVs) with the transport of cellular debris and associated particulate organic carbon (POC) to depth being facilitated by TEP-bound 'marine snow' aggregates. The dynamics of TEP production and particle aggregation in response to EhV infection are poorly understood. Using flow cytometry, spectrophotometry and FlowCam visualization of alcian blue (AB)-stained aggregates, we assessed TEP production and the size spectrum of aggregates for E. huxleyi possessing different degrees of calcification and cellular CaCO3 :POC mass ratios, when challenged with two EhVs (EhV207 and EhV99B1). FlowCam imaging also qualitatively assessed the relative amount of AB-stainable TEP (i.e., blue:red ratio of each particle). We show significant increases in TEP during early phase EhV207-infection (∼ 24 h) of calcifying strains and a shift towards large aggregates following EhV99B1-infection. We also observed the formation of large aggregates with low blue:red ratios, suggesting that other exopolymer substances contribute towards aggregation. Our findings show the potential for virus infection and the associated response of their hosts to impact carbon flux dynamics and provide incentive to explore these dynamics in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jozef I Nissimov
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Rebecca Vandzura
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Christopher T Johns
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Frank Natale
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Liti Haramaty
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Kay D Bidle
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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Emerging Interaction Patterns in the Emiliania huxleyi-EhV System. Viruses 2017; 9:v9030061. [PMID: 28327527 PMCID: PMC5371816 DOI: 10.3390/v9030061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Viruses are thought to be fundamental in driving microbial diversity in the oceanic planktonic realm. That role and associated emerging infection patterns remain particularly elusive for eukaryotic phytoplankton and their viruses. Here we used a vast number of strains from the model system Emiliania huxleyi/Emiliania huxleyi Virus to quantify parameters such as growth rate (µ), resistance (R), and viral production (Vp) capacities. Algal and viral abundances were monitored by flow cytometry during 72-h incubation experiments. The results pointed out higher viral production capacity in generalist EhV strains, and the virus-host infection network showed a strong co-evolution pattern between E. huxleyi and EhV populations. The existence of a trade-off between resistance and growth capacities was not confirmed.
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Nissimov JI, Pagarete A, Ma F, Cody S, Dunigan DD, Kimmance SA, Allen MJ. Coccolithoviruses: A Review of Cross-Kingdom Genomic Thievery and Metabolic Thuggery. Viruses 2017; 9:v9030052. [PMID: 28335474 PMCID: PMC5371807 DOI: 10.3390/v9030052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Coccolithoviruses (Phycodnaviridae) infect and lyse the most ubiquitous and successful coccolithophorid in modern oceans, Emiliania huxleyi. So far, the genomes of 13 of these giant lytic viruses (i.e., Emiliania huxleyi viruses—EhVs) have been sequenced, assembled, and annotated. Here, we performed an in-depth comparison of their genomes to try and contextualize the ecological and evolutionary traits of these viruses. The genomes of these EhVs have from 444 to 548 coding sequences (CDSs). Presence/absence analysis of CDSs identified putative genes with particular ecological significance, namely sialidase, phosphate permease, and sphingolipid biosynthesis. The viruses clustered into distinct clades, based on their DNA polymerase gene as well as full genome comparisons. We discuss the use of such clustering and suggest that a gene-by-gene investigation approach may be more useful when the goal is to reveal differences related to functionally important genes. A multi domain “Best BLAST hit” analysis revealed that 84% of the EhV genes have closer similarities to the domain Eukarya. However, 16% of the EhV CDSs were very similar to bacterial genes, contributing to the idea that a significant portion of the gene flow in the planktonic world inter-crosses the domains of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jozef I Nissimov
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK.
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
| | - António Pagarete
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, 7803, Norway.
| | - Fangrui Ma
- Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
| | - Sean Cody
- Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
| | - David D Dunigan
- Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
| | - Susan A Kimmance
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK.
| | - Michael J Allen
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK.
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Nissimov JI, Napier JA, Allen MJ, Kimmance SA. Intragenus competition between coccolithoviruses: an insight on how a select few can come to dominate many. Environ Microbiol 2015; 18:133-45. [PMID: 25970076 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2014] [Revised: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Viruses are a major cause of coccolithophore bloom demise in both temperate and sub-temperate oceanic regions. Most infection studies on coccolithoviruses have been conducted with a single virus strain, and the effect of intragenus competition by closely related coccolithoviruses has been ignored. Here we conducted combined infection experiments, infecting Emiliania huxleyi CCMP 2090 with two coccolithoviruses: EhV-86 and EhV-207 both simultaneously and independently. EhV-207 displayed a shorter lytic cycle and increased production potential than EhV-86 and was remarkably superior under competitive conditions. Although the viruses displayed identical adsorption kinetics in the first 2 h post infection, EhV-207 gained a numerical advantage as early as 8 h post infection. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed that when infecting in combination, EhV-207 was not affected by the presence of EhV-86, whereas EhV-86 was quickly out-competed, and a significant reduction in free and cell-associated EhV-86 was seen as early as 2 days after the initial infection. The observation of such clear phenotypic differences between genetically distinct, yet similar, coccolithovirus strains, by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR allowed tentative links to the burgeoning genomic, transcriptomic and metabolic data to be made and the factors driving their selection, in particular to the de novo coccolithovirus-encoded sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway. This work illustrates that, even within a family, not all viruses are created equally, and the potential exists for relatively small genetic changes to infer disproportionately large competitive advantages for one coccolithovirus over another, ultimately leading to a few viruses dominating the many.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jozef I Nissimov
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Johnathan A Napier
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Michael J Allen
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
| | - Susan A Kimmance
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
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