Highly divergent CRESS DNA and picorna-like viruses associated with bleached thalli of the green seaweed Ulva.

ABSTRACT: Marine macroalgae (seaweeds) are important primary producers and foundation species in coastal ecosystems around the world. Seaweeds currently contribute to an estimated 51% of the global mariculture production, with a long-term growth rate of 6% per year, and an estimated market value of more than US$11.3 billion. Viral infections could have a substantial impact on the ecology and aquaculture of seaweeds, but surprisingly little is known about virus diversity in macroalgal hosts. Using metagenomic sequencing, we characterized viral communities associated with healthy and bleached specimens of the commercially important green seaweed Ulva. We identified 20 putative new and divergent viruses, of which the majority belonged to the Circular Rep-Encoding Single-Stranded (CRESS) DNA viru

SUBMITTER: van der Loos LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10581178 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature