Unraveling the habitat preferences, ecological drivers, potential hosts, and auxiliary metabolism of soil giant viruses across China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Soil giant viruses are increasingly believed to have profound effects on ecological functioning by infecting diverse eukaryotes. However, their biogeography and ecology remain poorly understood.

Results

In this study, we analyzed 333 soil metagenomes from 5 habitat types (farmland, forest, grassland, Gobi desert, and mine wasteland) across China and identified 533 distinct giant virus phylotypes affiliated with nine families, thereby greatly expanding the diversity of soil giant viruses. Among the nine families, Pithoviridae were the most diverse. The majority of phylotypes exhibited a heterogeneous distribution among habitat types, with a remarkably high proportion of unique phylotypes in mine wasteland. The abundances of phylotypes were negatively correlated wit

SUBMITTER: Liang JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11265010 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature