Targeted metagenomic recovery of four divergent viruses reveals shared and distinctive characteristics of giant viruses of marine eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: Giant viruses have remarkable genomic repertoires-blurring the line with cellular life-and act as top-down controls of eukaryotic plankton. However, to date only six cultured giant virus genomes are available from the pelagic ocean. We used at-sea flow cytometry with staining and sorting designed to target wild predatory eukaryotes, followed by DNA sequencing and assembly, to recover novel giant viruses from the Pacific Ocean. We retrieved four 'PacV' partial genomes that range from 421 to 1605 Kb, with 13 contigs on average, including the largest marine viral genomic assembly reported to date. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that three of the new viruses span a clade with deep-branching members of giant Mimiviridae, incorporating the Cafeteria roenbergensis virus, the unculti

SUBMITTER: Needham DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6792449 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature