Environmental drivers of viral community composition in Antarctic soils identified by viromics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Antarctic continent is considered the coldest and driest place on earth with simple ecosystems, devoid of higher plants. Soils in the ice-free regions of Antarctica are known to harbor a wide range of microorganisms from primary producers to grazers, yet their ecology and particularly the role of viruses is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the virus community structures of 14 soil samples from the Mackay Glacier region.

Methods

Viral communities were extracted from soil and the dsDNA was extracted, amplified using single-primer amplification, and sequenced using the Ion Torrent Proton platform. Metadata on soil physico-chemistry was collected from all sites. Both read and contig datasets were analyzed with reference-independent and reference-depen

SUBMITTER: Adriaenssens EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5518109 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature