Spatio-functional organization in virocells of small uncultivated archaea from the deep biosphere.

ABSTRACT: Despite important ecological roles posited for virocells (i.e., cells infected with viruses), studying individual cells in situ is technically challenging. We introduce here a novel correlative microscopic approach to study the ecophysiology of virocells. By conducting concerted virusFISH, 16S rRNA FISH, and scanning electron microscopy interrogations of uncultivated archaea, we linked morphologies of various altiarchaeal cells to corresponding phylogenetic signals and indigenous virus infections. While uninfected cells exhibited moderate separation between fluorescence signals of ribosomes and DNA, virocells displayed complete cellular segregation of chromosomal DNA from viral DNA, the latter co-localizing with host ribosome signals. A similar spatial separation was observed in dividing c

SUBMITTER: Banas I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10504349 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature