Viruses and Their Interactions With Bacteria and Archaea of Hypersaline Great Salt Lake

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.

Carbon metabolism and biogeography of candidate phylum “Candidatus Bipolaricaulota” in geothermal environments of Biga Peninsula, Turkey

“…For the pangenomic analysis, the MAGs to compare against our study were downloaded from public databases deposited as a part of research efforts (Takami et al, 2012;Jungbluth et al, 2017;Parks et al, 2017;Hao et al, 2018;Kadnikov et al, 2019;Smith et al, 2019;Youssef et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2020;Reysenbach et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2020;Bhattarai et al, 2021;Schneider et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021;Brazelton et al, 2022;Speth et al, 2022). Supplementary Table 2 provides information on the 23 origins of all the genomes examined in this study.…”

Prokaryotic microbial diversity analysis and metabolic function prediction of salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…Although there are some habitats with their own unique and infrequent microbial community distributions, microbial community structure and diversity in lake ecosystems are mainly affected by salinity (ion composition), followed by pH, nutrition, and temperature (28, 36). In this study, salinity was the primary signi cant factor driving differences in species composition (14).…”

“…Different salinities can still be present in neighboring salt lakes, even when they are supplied from the same water source. Bishav et al found that the difference in salinity between the northern and southern regions of the hypersaline Great Salt Lake led to species diversity (14). Plitvice lakes with rich microbial communities were attributed to rare network ecosystems of varying salinity composed of several different landforms (15).…”

Evaluation of the Viral Diversity of Artemia Cysts from Saline Lakes in Kazakhstan Using Viral Metagenomics Analysis

“…Hypersaline viral communities across different salinity environments exhibit a remarkable degree of genetic consistency, indicating the formation of a cohesive community [10]. Moreover, viral populations exhibit similarities to the viruses found in hypersaline ponds and lakes that possess diverse salinity levels [9,17]. The awareness of the variety of viruses present in saline water environments contributes to our understanding of the intricate associations between viruses and their hosts, thereby unveiling the ecological dynamics that influence these exceptional habitats.…”

“…In recent years, due to the significant impact of viruses on microbial communities and ecosystem functions, researchers have become increasingly interested in investigating the diversity of viruses in salt lakes [9][10][11]. Salt lakes are fascinating ecosystems characterized by high salt concentrations and unique physical and chemical properties [12].…”