Climate-Endangered Arctic Epishelf Lake Harbors Viral Assemblages with Distinct Genetic Repertoires.

ABSTRACT: Milne Fiord, located on the coastal margin of the Last Ice Area (LIA) in the High Arctic (82°N, Canada), harbors an epishelf lake, a rare type of ice-dependent ecosystem in which a layer of freshwater overlies marine water connected to the open ocean. This microbe-dominated ecosystem faces catastrophic change due to the deterioration of its ice environment related to warming temperatures. We produced the first assessment of viral abundance, diversity, and distribution in this vulnerable ecosystem and explored the niches available for viral taxa and the functional genes underlying their distribution. We found that the viral community in the freshwater layer was distinct from, and more diverse than, the community in the underlying seawater and contained a different set of putative auxiliary

SUBMITTER: Labbe M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9469726 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature