Comparative metagenomic analyses reveal viral-induced shifts of host metabolism towards nucleotide biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Viral genomes often contain metabolic genes that were acquired from host genomes (auxiliary genes). It is assumed that these genes are fixed in viral genomes as a result of a selective force, favoring viruses that acquire specific metabolic functions. While many individual auxiliary genes were observed in viral genomes and metagenomes, there is great importance in investigating the abundance of auxiliary genes and metabolic functions in the marine environment towards a better understanding of their role in promoting viral reproduction.

Results

In this study, we searched for enriched viral auxiliary genes and mapped them to metabolic pathways. To initially identify enriched auxiliary genes, we analyzed metagenomic microbial reads from the Global Ocean Survey (GOS)

SUBMITTER: Enav H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4022391 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature