Viruses in deep-sea cold seep sediments harbor diverse survival mechanisms and remain genetically conserved within species.

ABSTRACT: Deep sea cold seep sediments have been discovered to harbor novel, abundant, and diverse bacterial and archaeal viruses. However, little is known about viral genetic features and evolutionary patterns in these environments. Here, we examined the evolutionary ecology of viruses across active and extinct seep stages in the area of Haima cold seeps in the South China Sea. A total of 338 viral operational taxonomic units are identified and linked to 36 bacterial and archaeal phyla. The dynamics of host-virus interactions are informed by diverse antiviral defense systems across 43 families found in 487 microbial genomes. Cold seep viruses are predicted to harbor diverse adaptive strategies to persist in this environment, including counter-defense systems, auxiliary metabolic genes, reverse tran

SUBMITTER: Peng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10504277 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature