Extremophile deep-sea viral communities from hydrothermal vents: Structural and functional analysis
Hugo Gildardo Castelán-Sáncheza, Itzel López‐Rosasb, Wendy Argelia García-Suásteguic, Raúl Peraltaa, Alan D. W. Dobsond e, Ramón Alberto Batista‐Garcíaa, Sonia Dávila‐Ramosa f✉
- aCentro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Morelos. Av. Universidad 1001. Col. Chamilpa. Cuernavca, Morelos. C.P, Cuernavaca 62209, Mexico
- bCONACyT Research fellow-Colegio de Postgraduados Campus Campeche, Carretera Haltunchén - Edzná Km 17.5. Colonia Sihochac. Champotón, Campeche 24450, Mexico
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Abstract
Ten publicly available metagenomic data sets from hydrothermal vents were analyzed to determine the taxonomic structure of the viral communities present, as well as their potential metabolic functions. The type of natural selection on two auxiliary metabolic genes was also analyzed. The structure of the virome in the hydrothermal vents was quite different in comparison with the viruses present in sediments, with specific populations being present in greater abundance in the plume samples when compared with the sediment samples. ssDNA genomes such as Circoviridae and Microviridae were predominantly present in the sediment samples, with Caudovirales which are dsDNA being present in the vent samples. Genes potentially encoding enzymes that participate in carbon, nitrogen and sulfur metabolic pathways were found in greater abundance, than those involved in the oxygen cycle, in the hydrothermal vents. Functional profiling of the viromes, resulted in the discovery of genes encoding proteins involved in bacteriophage capsids, DNA synthesis, nucleotide synthesis, DNA repair, as well as viral auxiliary metabolic genes such as cytitidyltransferase and ribonucleotide reductase. These auxiliary metabolic genes participate in the synthesis of phospholipids and nucleotides respectively and are likely to contribute to enhancing the fitness of their bacterial hosts within the hydrothermal vent communities. Finally, evolutionary analysis suggested that these auxiliary metabolic genes are highly conserved and evolve under purifying selection, and are thus maintained in their genome.
TL;DRFunctional profiling of the viromes resulted in the discovery of genes encoding proteins involved in bacteriophage capsids, DNA synthesis, nucleotide synthesis, DNA repair, as well as viral auxiliary metabolic genes such as cytitidyltransferase and ribonucleotide reductase which are suggested to be maintained in their genome. (Semantic Scholar)