Giant virus diversity and host interactions through global metagenomics

Frederik Schulz (), Simon Roux, David Paez-Espino, Sean Jungbluth, David A. Walsh, Vincent J. Denef, Katherine D. McMahon, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh, Nikos C. Kyrpides and Tanja Woyke ()
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Frederik Schulz: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Simon Roux: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
David Paez-Espino: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Sean Jungbluth: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
David A. Walsh: Concordia University
Vincent J. Denef: University of Michigan
Katherine D. McMahon: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis: Georgia Institute of Technology
Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Nikos C. Kyrpides: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Tanja Woyke: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Nature, 2020, vol. 578, issue 7795, 432-436

Abstract: Abstract Our current knowledge about nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) is largely derived from viral isolates that are co-cultivated with protists and algae. Here we reconstructed 2,074 NCLDV genomes from sampling sites across the globe by building on the rapidly increasing amount of publicly available metagenome data. This led to an 11-fold increase in phylogenetic diversity and a parallel 10-fold expansion in functional diversity. Analysis of 58,023 major capsid proteins from large and giant viruses using metagenomic data revealed the global distribution patterns and cosmopolitan nature of these viruses. The discovered viral genomes encoded a wide range of proteins with putative roles in photosynthesis and diverse substrate transport processes, indicating that host reprogramming is probably a common strategy in the NCLDVs. Furthermore, inferences of horizontal gene transfer connected viral lineages to diverse eukaryotic hosts. We anticipate that the global diversity of NCLDVs that we describe here will establish giant viruses—which are associated with most major eukaryotic lineages—as important players in ecosystems across Earth’s biomes.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1957-x

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