Molecular and microscopic evidence of viruses in marine copepods

Phylogenomic analysis expands the known repertoire of single-stranded DNA viruses in benthic zones of the South Indian Ocean

Single-stranded (ss) DNA viruses are ubiquitous and constitute some of the most diverse entities on Earth. Most studies have focused on ssDNA viruses from terrestrial environments resulting in a significant deficit in benthic ecosystems including aphotic zones of the South Indian Ocean (SIO). Here, we assess the diversity and phylogeny of ssDNA in deep waters of the SIO using a combination of established viral taxonomy tools and a Hidden Markov Model based approach. Replication initiator protein-associated (Rep) phylogenetic reconstruction and sequence similarity networks were used to show that the SIO hosts divergent and as yet unknown circular Rep-encoding ssDNA viruses. Several sequences appear to represent entirely novel families, expanding the repertoire of known ssDNA viruses. Results suggest that a small proportion of these viruses may be circular genetic elements, which may strongly influence the diversity of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes in the SIO. Taken together, our data show that the SIO harbours a diverse assortment of previously unknown ssDNA viruses. Due to their potential to infect a variety of hosts, these viruses may be crucial for marine nutrient recycling through their influence of the biological carbon pump.

Divergent RNA viruses infecting sea lice, major ectoparasites of fish

Sea lice, the major ectoparasites of fish, have significant economic impacts on wild and farmed finfish, and have been implicated in the decline of wild salmon populations. As blood-feeding arthropods, sea lice may also be reservoirs for viruses infecting fish. However, except for two groups of negative-strand RNA viruses within the order Mononegavirales, nothing is known about viruses of sea lice. Here, we used transcriptomic data from three key species of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis, Caligus clemensi, and Caligus rogercresseyi) to identify 32 previously unknown RNA viruses. The viruses encompassed all the existing phyla of RNA viruses, with many placed in deeply branching lineages that likely represent new families and genera. Importantly, the presence of canonical virus-derived small interfering RNAs (viRNAs) indicates that most of these viruses infect sea lice, even though in some cases their closest classified relatives are only known to infect plants or fungi. We also identified both viRNAs and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) from sequences of a bunya-like and two qin-like viruses in C. rogercresseyi. Our analyses showed that most of the viruses found in C. rogercresseyi occurred in multiple life stages, spanning from planktonic to parasitic stages. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that many of the viruses infecting sea lice were closely related to those that infect a wide array of eukaryotes with which arthropods associate, including fungi and parasitic tapeworms, implying that over evolutionary time there has been cross-phylum and cross-kingdom switching of viruses between arthropods and other eukaryotes. Overall, this study greatly expands our view of virus diversity in crustaceans, identifies viruses that infect and replicate in sea lice, and provides evidence that over evolutionary time, viruses have switched between arthropods and eukaryotic hosts in other phyla and kingdoms.

Pathogens and Passengers: Roles for Crustacean Zooplankton Viruses in the Global Ocean

Viruses infect all living organisms, but the viruses of most marine animals are largely unknown. Crustacean zooplankton are a functional lynchpin in marine food webs, but very few have been interrogated for their associated viruses despite the profound potential effects of viral infection. Nonetheless, it is clear that the diversity of viruses in crustacean zooplankton is enormous, including members of all realms of RNA viruses, as well as single- and double-stranded DNA viruses, in many cases representing deep branches of viral evolution. As there is clear evidence that many of these viruses infect and replicate in zooplankton species, we posit that viral infection is likely responsible for a significant portion of unexplained non-consumptive mortality in this group. In turn, this infection affects food webs and alters biogeochemical cycling. In addition to the direct impacts of infection, zooplankton can vector economically devastating viruses of finfish and other crustaceans. The dissemination of these viruses is facilitated by the movement of zooplankton vertically between epi- and mesopelagic communities through seasonal and diel vertical migration (DVM) and across long distances in ship ballast water. The large potential impact of viruses on crustacean zooplankton emphasises the need to clearly establish the relationships between specific viruses and the zooplankton they infect and investigate disease and mortality for these host-virus pairs. Such data will enable investigations into a link between viral infection and seasonal dynamics of host populations. We are only beginning to uncover the diversity and function of viruses associated with crustacean zooplankton.

Novel Virus Identification through Metagenomics: A Systematic Review

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS) allows the evaluation of complex microbial communities, avoiding isolation and cultivation of each microbial species, and does not require prior knowledge of the microbial sequences present in the sample. Applications of mNGS include virome characterization, new virus discovery and full-length viral genome reconstruction, either from virus preparations enriched in culture or directly from clinical and environmental specimens. Here, we systematically reviewed studies that describe novel virus identification through mNGS from samples of different origin (plant, animal and environment). Without imposing time limits to the search, 379 publications were identified that met the search parameters. Sample types, geographical origin, enrichment and nucleic acid extraction methods, sequencing platforms, bioinformatic analytical steps and identified viral families were described. The review highlights mNGS as a feasible method for novel virus discovery from samples of different origins, describes which kind of heterogeneous experimental and analytical protocols are currently used and provides useful information such as the different commercial kits used for the purification of nucleic acids and bioinformatics analytical pipelines.

RNA Virosphere in a Marine Zooplankton Community in the Subtropical Western North Pacific

Zooplankton and viruses play a key role in marine ecosystems; however, their interactions have not been examined in detail. In the present study, the diversity of viruses associated with zooplankton collected using a plankton net (mesh size: 100‍ ‍μm) in the subtropical western North Pacific was investigated by fragmented and primer ligated dsRNA sequencing. We obtained 21 and 168 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of ssRNA and dsRNA viruses, respectively, containing RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). These OTUs presented average amino acid similarities of 43.5 and 44.0% to the RdRp genes of known viruses in ssRNA viruses and dsRNA viruses, respectively. Dominant OTUs mainly belonged to narna-like and picorna-like ssRNA viruses and chryso-like, partiti-like, picobirna-like, reo-like, and toti-like dsRNA viruses. Phylogenetic ana-lyses of the RdRp gene revealed that OTUs were phylogenetically diverse and clustered into distinct clades from known viral groups. The community structure of the same zooplankton sample was investigated using small subunit (SSU) rRNA sequences assembled from the metatranscriptome of single-stranded RNA. More than 90% of the sequence reads were derived from metazoan zooplankton; copepods comprised approximately 70% of the sequence reads. Although this ana-lysis provided no direct evidence of the host species of RNA viruses, these dominant zooplankton are expected to be associated with the RNA viruses detected in the present study. The present results indicate that zooplankton function as a reservoir of diverse RNA viruses and suggest that investigations of zooplankton viruses will provide a more detailed understanding of the role of viruses in marine ecosystems.

Parasites, pathogens, and other symbionts of copepods

There is a large diversity of eukaryotic symbionts of copepods, dominated by epizootic protists such as ciliates, and metazoan parasites. Eukaryotic endoparasites, copepod-associated bacteria, and viruses are less well known, partly due to technical limitations. However, new molecular techniques, combined with a range of other approaches, provide a complementary toolkit for understanding the complete symbiome of copepods and how the symbiome relates to their ecological roles, relationships with other biota, and responses to environmental change. In this review we provide the most complete overview of the copepod symbiome to date, including microeukaryotes, metazoan parasites, bacteria, and viruses, and provide extensive literature databases to inform future studies.

Characterisation of the Viral Community Associated with the Alfalfa Weevil (Hypera postica) and Its Host Plant, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Advances in viral metagenomics have paved the way of virus discovery by making the exploration of viruses in any ecosystem possible. Applied to agroecosystems, such an approach opens new possibilities to explore how viruses circulate between insects and plants, which may help to optimise their management. It could also lead to identifying novel entomopathogenic viral resources potentially suitable for biocontrol strategies. We sampled the larvae of a natural population of alfalfa weevils (Hypera postica), a major herbivorous pest feeding on legumes, and its host plant alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Insect and plant samples were collected from a crop field and an adjacent meadow. We characterised the diversity and abundance of viruses associated with weevils and alfalfa, and described nine putative new virus species, including four associated with alfalfa and five with weevils. In addition, we found that trophic accumulation may result in a higher diversity of plant viruses in phytophagous pests compared to host plants.

Eukaryotic virus composition can predict the efficiency of carbon export in the global ocean

The biological carbon pump, in which carbon fixed by photosynthesis is exported to the deep ocean through sinking, is a major process in Earth's carbon cycle. The proportion of primary production that is exported is termed the carbon export efficiency (CEE). Based on in-lab or regional scale observations, viruses were previously suggested to affect the CEE (i.e., viral “shunt” and “shuttle”). In this study, we tested associations between viral community composition and CEE measured at a global scale. A regression model based on relative abundance of viral marker genes explained 67% of the variation in CEE. Viruses with high importance in the model were predicted to infect ecologically important hosts. These results are consistent with the view that the viral shunt and shuttle functions at a large scale and further imply that viruses likely act in this process in a way dependent on their hosts and ecosystem dynamics.

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Eukaryotic virus community composition is shown to predict carbon export efficiency

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Tens of viruses are highly important in the prediction of the efficiency

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These viruses are inferred to infect ecologically important hosts

Viral ecogenomics across the Porifera

BACKGROUND

Viruses directly affect the most important biological processes in the ocean via their regulation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations. Marine sponges form stable symbiotic partnerships with a wide diversity of microorganisms and this high symbiont complexity makes them an ideal model for studying viral ecology. Here, we used morphological and molecular approaches to illuminate the diversity and function of viruses inhabiting nine sponge species from the Great Barrier Reef and seven from the Red Sea.

RESULTS

Viromic sequencing revealed host-specific and site-specific patterns in the viral assemblages, with all sponge species dominated by the bacteriophage order Caudovirales but also containing variable representation from the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus families Mimiviridae, Marseilleviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Ascoviridae, Iridoviridae, Asfarviridae and Poxviridae. Whilst core viral functions related to replication, infection and structure were largely consistent across the sponge viromes, functional profiles varied significantly between species and sites largely due to differential representation of putative auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and accessory genes, including those associated with herbicide resistance, heavy metal resistance and nylon degradation. Furthermore, putative AMGs varied with the composition and abundance of the sponge-associated microbiome. For instance, genes associated with antimicrobial activity were enriched in low microbial abundance sponges, genes associated with nitrogen metabolism were enriched in high microbial abundance sponges and genes related to cellulose biosynthesis were enriched in species that host photosynthetic symbionts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight the diverse functional roles that viruses can play in marine sponges and are consistent with our current understanding of sponge ecology. Differential representation of putative viral AMGs and accessory genes across sponge species illustrate the diverse suite of beneficial roles viruses can play in the functional ecology of these complex reef holobionts. Video Abstract.

An Unconventional Flavivirus and Other RNA Viruses in the Sea Cucumber (Holothuroidea; Echinodermata) Virome

Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea; Echinodermata) are ecologically significant constituents of benthic marine habitats. We surveilled RNA viruses inhabiting eight species (representing four families) of holothurian collected from four geographically distinct locations by viral metagenomics, including a single specimen of Apostichopus californicus affected by a hitherto undocumented wasting disease. The RNA virome comprised genome fragments of both single-stranded positive sense and double stranded RNA viruses, including those assigned to the Picornavirales, Ghabrivirales, and Amarillovirales. We discovered an unconventional flavivirus genome fragment which was most similar to a shark virus. Ghabivirales-like genome fragments were most similar to fungal totiviruses in both genome architecture and homology and had likely infected mycobiome constituents. Picornavirales, which are commonly retrieved in host-associated viral metagenomes, were similar to invertebrate transcriptome-derived picorna-like viruses. The greatest number of viral genome fragments was recovered from the wasting A. californicus library compared to the asymptomatic A. californicus library. However, reads from the asymptomatic library recruited to nearly all recovered wasting genome fragments, suggesting that they were present but not well represented in the grossly normal specimen. These results expand the known host range of flaviviruses and suggest that fungi and their viruses may play a role in holothurian ecology.

Identification and Distribution of Novel Cressdnaviruses and Circular molecules in Four Penguin Species in South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula

There is growing interest in uncovering the viral diversity present in wild animal species. The remote Antarctic region is home to a wealth of uncovered microbial diversity, some of which is associated with its megafauna, including penguin species, the dominant avian biota. Penguins interface with a number of other biota in their roles as marine mesopredators and several species overlap in their ranges and habitats. To characterize the circular single-stranded viruses related to those in the phylum Cressdnaviricota from these environmental sentinel species, cloacal swabs (n = 95) were obtained from King Penguins in South Georgia, and congeneric Adélie Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins, and Gentoo Penguins across the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. Using a combination of high-throughput sequencing, abutting primers-based PCR recovery of circular genomic elements, cloning, and Sanger sequencing, we detected 97 novel sequences comprising 40 ssDNA viral genomes and 57 viral-like circular molecules from 45 individual penguins. We present their detection patterns, with Chinstrap Penguins harboring the highest number of new sequences. The novel Antarctic viruses identified appear to be host-specific, while one circular molecule was shared between sympatric Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins. We also report viral genotype sharing between three adult-chick pairs, one in each Pygoscelid species. Sequence similarity network approaches coupled with Maximum likelihood phylogenies of the clusters indicate the 40 novel viral genomes do not fall within any known viral families and likely fall within the recently established phylum Cressdnaviricota based on their replication-associated protein sequences. Similarly, 83 capsid protein sequences encoded by the viruses or viral-like circular molecules identified in this study do not cluster with any of those encoded by classified viral groups. Further research is warranted to expand knowledge of the Antarctic virome and would help elucidate the importance of viral-like molecules in vertebrate host evolution.

Exploration of the virome of the European brown shrimp (Crangon crangon)

Crangon crangon is economically a very important species. Recently, promising culture attempts have been made, but a major problem is the uncontrollable mortality during the grow-out phase. As of yet, the life cycle of C. crangon is not closed in captivity so wild-caught individuals are used for further rearing. Therefore, it is important to investigate the virome of C. crangon both in wild-caught animals as in cultured animals. In recent years, next-generation-sequencing (NGS) technologies have been very important in the unravelling of the virome of a wide range of environments and matrices, such as soil, sea, potable water, but also of a wide range of animal species. This will be the first report of a virome study in C. crangon using NGS in combination with the NetoVIR protocol. The near complete genomes of 16 novel viruses were described, most of which were rather distantly related to unclassified viruses or viruses belonging to the Picornavirales, Bunyavirales Nudiviridae, Parvoviridae, Flaviviridae, Hepeviridae, Tombusviridae, Narnaviridae, Nodaviridae, Sobemovirus. A difference in virome composition was observed between muscle and hepatopancreatic tissue, suggesting a distinct tissue tropism of several of these viruses. Some differences in the viral composition were noted between the cultured and wild shrimp, which could indicate that in sub-optimal aquaculture conditions some viruses become more abundant. This research showed that a plethora of unknown viruses is present in C. crangon and that more research is needed to determine which virus is potentially dangerous for the culture of C. crangon.

Viral metagenomics reveals significant viruses in the genital tract of apparently healthy dairy cows

The virome in genital tract secretion samples collected from 80 dairy cattle in Shanghai, China, was characterized. Viruses detected included members of the families Papillomaviridae, Polyomaviridae, Hepeviridae, Parvoviridae, Astroviridae, Picornaviridae, and Picobirnaviridae. A member of a new species within the genus Dyoxipapillomavirus and six circular Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) (CRESS-DNA) viral genomes were fully sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. The prevalence of bovine polyomaviruses 1 and 2 was measured by PCR to be 10% (8/80) and 6.25% (5/80), respectively. PCR screening also indicated that the novel papillomavirus ujs-21015 and bovine herpesvirus 6 were present in three and two out of the 80 samples, respectively.

Eukaryotic Circular Rep-Encoding Single-Stranded DNA (CRESS DNA) Viruses: Ubiquitous Viruses With Small Genomes and a Diverse Host Range

While single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) was once thought to be a relatively rare genomic architecture for viruses, modern metagenomics sequencing has revealed circular ssDNA viruses in most environments and in association with diverse hosts. In particular, circular ssDNA viruses encoding a homologous replication-associated protein (Rep) have been identified in the majority of eukaryotic supergroups, generating interest in the ecological effects and evolutionary history of circular Rep-encoding ssDNA viruses (CRESS DNA) viruses. This review surveys the explosion of sequence diversity and expansion of eukaryotic CRESS DNA taxonomic groups over the last decade, highlights similarities between the well-studied geminiviruses and circoviruses with newly identified groups known only through their genome sequences, discusses the ecology and evolution of eukaryotic CRESS DNA viruses, and speculates on future research horizons.

Contrasting distributions of bacteriophages and eukaryotic viruses from contaminated coastal sediments

Viruses are ubiquitous, abundant and play an important role in all ecosystems. Here, we advance understanding of coastal sediment viruses by exploring links in the composition and abundance of sediment viromes to environmental stressors and sediment bacterial communities. We collected sediment from contaminated and reference sites in Sydney Harbour and used metagenomics to analyse viral community composition. The proportion of phages at contaminated sites was significantly greater than phages at reference sites, whereas eukaryotic viruses were relatively more abundant at reference sites. We observed shifts in viral and bacterial composition between contaminated and reference sites of a similar magnitude. Models based on sediment characteristics revealed that total organic carbon in the sediments explained most of the environmental stress-related variation in the viral dataset. Our results suggest that the presence of anthropogenic contaminants in coastal sediments could be influencing viral community composition with potential consequences for associated hosts and the environment.

Virus discovery in all three major lineages of terrestrial arthropods highlights the diversity of single-stranded DNA viruses associated with invertebrates

Viruses encoding a replication-associated protein (Rep) within a covalently closed, single-stranded (ss)DNA genome are among the smallest viruses known to infect eukaryotic organisms, including economically valuable agricultural crops and livestock. Although circular Rep-encoding ssDNA (CRESS DNA) viruses are a widespread group for which our knowledge is rapidly expanding, biased sampling toward vertebrates and land plants has limited our understanding of their diversity and evolution. Here, we screened terrestrial arthropods for CRESS DNA viruses and report the identification of 44 viral genomes and replicons associated with specimens representing all three major terrestrial arthropod lineages, namely Euchelicerata (spiders), Hexapoda (insects), and Myriapoda (millipedes). We identified virus genomes belonging to three established CRESS DNA viral families (Circoviridae, Genomoviridae, and Smacoviridae); however, over half of the arthropod-associated viral genomes are only distantly related to currently classified CRESS DNA viral sequences. Although members of viral and satellite families known to infect plants (Geminiviridae, Nanoviridae, Alphasatellitidae) were not identified in this study, these plant-infecting CRESS DNA viruses and replicons are transmitted by hemipterans. Therefore, members from six out of the seven established CRESS DNA viral families circulate among arthropods. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis of Reps, including endogenous viral sequences, reported to date from a wide array of organisms revealed that most of the known CRESS DNA viral diversity circulates among invertebrates. Our results highlight the vast and unexplored diversity of CRESS DNA viruses among invertebrates and parallel findings from RNA viral discovery efforts in undersampled taxa.

Viruses in Marine Ecosystems: From Open Waters to Coral Reefs

Viruses infect all kingdoms of marine life from bacteria to whales. Viruses in the world's oceans play important roles in the mortality of phytoplankton, and as drivers of evolution and biogeochemical cycling. They shape host population abundance and distribution and can lead to the termination of algal blooms. As discoveries about this huge reservoir of genetic and biological diversity grow, our understanding of the major influences viruses exert in the global marine environment continues to expand. This chapter discusses the key discoveries that have been made to date about marine viruses and the current direction of this field of research.

Identification of two novel CRESS DNA viruses associated with an Avipoxvirus lesion of a blue-and-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus)

The discovery of circular rep-encoding single stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses has increased spectacularly over the past decade. They represent the smallest animal viruses known worldwide infecting a wide variety of invertebrates and vertebrates in different natural and human-made environments. The extremely low similarity of nucleotide and protein sequences among different CRESS DNA genomes has challenged their classification. Moreover, the existence of capsid proteins (Cp) remains difficult to demonstrate which is crucial to understand the structural properties of these viruses. Here we describe two unclassified CRESS DNA viruses isolated from a cutaneous lesion, caused by a strain of Avipoxvirus, from a blue-and-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus) in Southern Ecuador. Both viruses present replication-associated proteins (Rep) and one to two open reading frames (ORF), one of which represents a putative Cp. The two new Rep are long proteins characterized by the existence of the several highly conserved amino acid residues characteristic of rolling circle replication. Within the putative Cp we detected intrinsically disordered regions (IDR), potential protein and DNA binding regions, and nuclear localization signals (NLS), providing further evidence of presumed Cp. Despite being found on the same host lesion, both viruses show low similarity between each other (<60%) and other known CRESS DNA viruses. Furthermore, we analyze the evolutionary relationships within the CRESS DNA diversity. Additional sampling is needed to explore the possible pathogenic effects, prevalence and diversity (both phylogenetical and structural) of these viruses in wild bird populations.

Plasma virome of cattle from forest region revealed diverse small circular ssDNA viral genomes

Background

Free-range cattle are common in the Northeast China area, which have close contact with farmers and may carry virus threatening to cattle and farmers.

Methods

Using viral metagenomics we analyzed the virome in plasma samples collected from 80 cattle from the forested region of Northeast China.

Results

The virome of cattle plasma is composed of the viruses belonging to the families including Parvoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Picobirnaviridae, and divergent viral genomes showing sequence similarity to circular Rep-encoding single stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses. Five such CRESS-DNA genomes were full characterized, with Rep sequences related to circovirus and gemycircularvirus. Three bovine parvoviruses belonging to two different genera were also characterized.

Conclusion

The virome in plasma samples of cattle from the forested region of Northeast China was revealed, which further characterized the diversity of viruses in cattle plasma.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12985-018-0923-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The 'Neglected' Soil Virome - Potential Role and Impact

Bacteriophages are among the most abundant and diverse biological units in the biosphere. They have contributed to our understanding of the central dogma of biology and have been instrumental in the evolutionary success of bacterial pathogens. In contrast to our current understanding of marine viral communities, the soil virome and its function in terrestrial ecosystems has remained relatively understudied. Here, we examine, in a comparative fashion, the knowledge gathered from studies performed in soil versus marine settings. We address the information with respect to the abundance, diversity, ecological significance, and effects of, in particular, bacteriophages on their host's evolutionary trajectories. We also identify the main challenges that soil virology faces and the studies that are required to accompany the current developments in marine settings.

Distribution and Inferred Evolutionary Characteristics of a Chimeric ssDNA Virus Associated with Intertidal Marine Isopods

Aquatic invertebrates are common reservoirs of a rapidly expanding group of circular Rep-encoding ssDNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses. This study identified and explored the phylogenetic relationship between novel CRESS-DNA viral genotypes associated with Pacific intertidal isopods Idotea wosnesenskii, Idotea resecata, and Gnorimosphaeroma oregonensis. One genotype associated with I. wosnesenskii, IWaV278, shared sequence similarity and genomic features with Tombusviridae (ssRNA) and Circoviridae (ssDNA) genomes and was putatively assigned to the Cruciviridae clade comprising chimeric viruses. The complete genome of IWaV278 (3478 nt) was computationally completed, validated via Sanger sequencing, and exhibited sequence conservation and codon usage patterns analogous to other members of the Cruciviridae. Viral surveillance (qPCR) indicated that this virus was temporally transient (present in 2015, but not 2017), specific to I. wosnesenskii at a single collection site (Washington, DC, USA), more prevalent among male specimens, and frequently detected within exoskeletal structures. 18S rRNA sequences identified two alveolate protists associated with IWaV278-positive tissues and mechanical epibiont removal of ciliated exoskeletal structures eliminated viral detection, suggesting that the putative host of IWaV278 may be an epibiont of I. wosnesenskii. This investigation provides additional phylogenetic evidence to resolve Cruciviridae evolution and offers insight into the biogeography, specificity, and potential host of a crucivirus genotype.

Gene expression of benthic amphipods (genus: Diporeia) in relation to a circular ssDNA virus across two Laurentian Great Lakes

Circular rep-encoding ssDNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses are common constituents of invertebrate viral consortia. Despite their ubiquity and sequence diversity, the effects of CRESS-DNA viruses on invertebrate biology and ecology remain largely unknown. This study assessed the relationship between the transcriptional profile of benthic amphipods of genus Diporeia and the presence of the CRESS-DNA virus, LM29173, in the Laurentian Great Lakes to provide potential insight into the influence of these viruses on invertebrate gene expression. Twelve transcriptomes derived from Diporeia were compared, representing organisms from two amphipod haplotype clades (Great Lakes Michigan and Superior, defined by COI barcode sequencing) with varying viral loads (up to 3 × 10⁶ genome copies organism⁻¹). Read recruitment to de novo assembled transcripts revealed 2,208 significantly over or underexpressed contigs in transcriptomes with above average LM29173 load. Of these contigs, 31.5% were assigned a putative function. The greatest proportion of annotated, differentially expressed transcripts were associated with functions including: (1) replication, recombination, and repair, (2) cell structure/biogenesis, and (3) post-translational modification, protein turnover, and chaperones. Contigs putatively associated with innate immunity displayed no consistent pattern of expression, though several transcripts were significantly overexpressed in amphipods with high viral load. Quantitation (RT-qPCR) of target transcripts, non-muscular myosin heavy chain, β-actin, and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, corroborated transcriptome analysis and indicated that Lake Michigan and Lake Superior amphipods with high LM29173 load exhibit lake-specific trends in gene expression. While this investigation provides the first comparative survey of the transcriptional profile of invertebrates of variable CRESS-DNA viral load, additional inquiry is required to define the scope of host-specific responses to potential infection.

Variation in virome diversity in wild populations of Penaeus monodon (Fabricius 1798) with emphasis on pathogenic viruses

Marine animals typically harbor a community of viruses, a number of which are known to cause diseases. In shrimp aquaculture, viral pathogens are the principal causes of major economic losses. However, the composition of the viral load of shrimps in wild population is poorly known. In this study, we explored the viral diversity in the microbiome of wild Penaeus monodon collected from six sites in the Philippines, with a view to detecting pathogenic forms. We employed a metagenomic approach via particle-associated nucleic acid isolation, sequence-independent single primer amplification, and pyrosequencing. Virome analysis of shrimp samples from different sites revealed distinct virome profiles, and hence significant differences in diversity, among the various sites based on number of OTUs, Shannon-Weaver Index, and Inverse Simpson Index. Sequences of key shrimp pathogens were detected such as the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), and Penaeus stylirostris densovirus (PstDV). However, the patterns of distribution of the pathogenic viruses varied; whereas WSSV was found only in three out of six sites and PstDV were found in all but one site. The results also revealed shrimp-associated viruses that have not yet been observed in P. monodon such as avian virus-like, insect virus-like, plankton virus-like and bacteriophage-like sequences. Despite the diverse array of viruses detected in the study, a large proportion remains unidentified (i.e., similarity to sequences in the database was lower than the threshold required for definitive identification), and therefore could represent unexplored virus sequences and viral genomes in the environment.

Contribution of Next-Generation Sequencing to Aquatic and Fish Virology

The recent technological advances in nucleic acid sequencing, called next-generation sequencing (NGS), have revolutionized the field of genomics and have also influenced viral research. Aquatic viruses, and especially those infecting fish, have also greatly benefited from NGS technologies, which provide a huge amount of molecular information at a low cost in a relatively short period of time. Here, we review the use of the current high-throughput sequencing platforms with a special focus on the associated challenges (regarding sample preparation and bioinformatics) in their applications to the field of aquatic virology, especially for: (i) discovering novel viruses that may be associated with fish mortalities, (ii) elucidating the mechanisms of pathogenesis, and finally (iii) studying the molecular epidemiology of these pathogens.

The Baltic Sea Virome: Diversity and Transcriptional Activity of DNA and RNA Viruses

Inferred virus-host relationships, community structures of ubiquitous ecologically relevant groups, and identification of transcriptionally active populations have been achieved with our Baltic Sea study. Further, these data, highlighting the transcriptional activity of viruses, represent one of the more powerful uses of omics concerning ecosystem health. The use of omics-related data to assess ecosystem health holds great promise for rapid and relatively inexpensive determination of perturbations and risk, explicitly with regard to viral assemblages, as no single marker gene is suitable for widespread taxonomic coverage.

Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data were generated from size-fractionated samples from 11 sites within the Baltic Sea and adjacent marine waters of Kattegat and freshwater Lake Torneträsk in order to investigate the diversity, distribution, and transcriptional activity of virioplankton. Such a transect, spanning a salinity gradient from freshwater to the open sea, facilitated a broad genome-enabled investigation of natural as well as impacted aspects of Baltic Sea viral communities. Taxonomic signatures representative of phages within the widely distributed order Caudovirales were identified with enrichments in lesser-known families such as Podoviridae and Siphoviridae. The distribution of phage reported to infect diverse and ubiquitous heterotrophic bacteria (SAR11 clades) and cyanobacteria (Synechococcus sp.) displayed population-level shifts in diversity. Samples from higher-salinity conditions (>14 practical salinity units [PSU]) had increased abundances of viruses for picoeukaryotes, i.e., Ostreococcus. These data, combined with host diversity estimates, suggest viral modulation of diversity on the whole-community scale, as well as in specific prokaryotic and eukaryotic lineages. RNA libraries revealed single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and RNA viral populations throughout the Baltic Sea, with ssDNA phage highly represented in Lake Torneträsk. Further, our data suggest relatively high transcriptional activity of fish viruses within diverse families known to have broad host ranges, such as Nodoviridae (RNA), Iridoviridae (DNA), and predicted zoonotic viruses that can cause ecological and economic damage as well as impact human health.

IMPORTANCE Inferred virus-host relationships, community structures of ubiquitous ecologically relevant groups, and identification of transcriptionally active populations have been achieved with our Baltic Sea study. Further, these data, highlighting the transcriptional activity of viruses, represent one of the more powerful uses of omics concerning ecosystem health. The use of omics-related data to assess ecosystem health holds great promise for rapid and relatively inexpensive determination of perturbations and risk, explicitly with regard to viral assemblages, as no single marker gene is suitable for widespread taxonomic coverage.

Novel Circular Single-Stranded DNA Viruses among an Asteroid, Echinoid and Holothurian (Phylum: Echinodermata)

Echinoderms are prone to large population fluctuations that can be mediated by pervasive disease events. For the majority of echinoderm disease events the causative pathogen is unknown. Viruses have only recently been explored as potential pathogens using culture-independent techniques though little information currently exists on echinoderm viruses. In this study, ten circular ssDNA viruses were discovered in tissues among an asteroid (Asterias forbesi), an echinoid (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and a holothurian (Parastichopus californicus) using viral metagenomics. Genome architecture and sequence similarity place these viruses among the rapidly expanding circular rep-encoding single stranded (CRESS) DNA viral group. Multiple genomes from the same tissue were no more similar in sequence identity to each other than when compared to other known CRESS DNA viruses. The results from this study are the first to describe a virus from a holothurian and continue to show the ubiquity of these viruses among aquatic invertebrates.

Assessing viral taxonomic composition in benthic marine ecosystems: reliability and efficiency of different bioinformatic tools for viral metagenomic analyses

In benthic deep-sea ecosystems, which represent the largest biome on Earth, viruses have a recognised key ecological role, but their diversity is still largely unknown. Identifying the taxonomic composition of viruses is crucial for understanding virus-host interactions, their role in food web functioning and evolutionary processes. Here, we compared the performance of various bioinformatic tools (BLAST, MG-RAST, NBC, VMGAP, MetaVir, VIROME) for analysing the viral taxonomic composition in simulated viromes and viral metagenomes from different benthic deep-sea ecosystems. The analyses of simulated viromes indicate that all the BLAST tools, followed by MetaVir and VMGAP, are more reliable in the affiliation of viral sequences and strains. When analysing the environmental viromes, tBLASTx, MetaVir, VMGAP and VIROME showed a similar efficiency of sequence annotation; however, MetaVir and tBLASTx identified a higher number of viral strains. These latter tools also identified a wider range of viral families than the others, providing a wider view of viral taxonomic diversity in benthic deep-sea ecosystems. Our findings highlight strengths and weaknesses of available bioinformatic tools for investigating the taxonomic diversity of viruses in benthic ecosystems in order to improve our comprehension of viral diversity in the oceans and its relationships with host diversity and ecosystem functioning.

Circular replication-associated protein encoding DNA viruses identified in the faecal matter of various animals in New Zealand

In recent years, innovations in molecular techniques and sequencing technologies have resulted in a rapid expansion in the number of known viral sequences, in particular those with circular replication-associated protein (Rep)-encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA genomes. CRESS DNA viruses are present in the virome of many ecosystems and are known to infect a wide range of organisms. A large number of the recently identified CRESS DNA viruses cannot be classified into any known viral families, indicating that the current view of CRESS DNA viral sequence space is greatly underestimated. Animal faecal matter has proven to be a particularly useful source for sampling CRESS DNA viruses in an ecosystem, as it is cost-effective and non-invasive. In this study a viral metagenomic approach was used to explore the diversity of CRESS DNA viruses present in the faeces of domesticated and wild animals in New Zealand. Thirty-eight complete CRESS DNA viral genomes and two circular molecules (that may be defective molecules or single components of multicomponent genomes) were identified from forty-nine individual animal faecal samples. Based on shared genome organisations and sequence similarities, eighteen of the isolates were classified as gemycircularviruses and twelve isolates were classified as smacoviruses. The remaining eight isolates lack significant sequence similarity with any members of known CRESS DNA virus groups. This research adds significantly to our knowledge of CRESS DNA viral diversity in New Zealand, emphasising the prevalence of CRESS DNA viruses in nature, and reinforcing the suggestion that a large proportion of CRESS DNA viruses are yet to be identified.

Cycloviruses, gemycircularviruses and other novel replication-associated protein encoding circular viruses in Pacific flying fox (Pteropus tonganus) faeces

Viral metagenomic studies have demonstrated that animal faeces can be a good sampling source for exploring viral diversity associated with the host and its environment. As part of an continuing effort to identify novel circular replication-associated protein encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses circulating in the Tongan archipelago, coupled with the fact that bats are a reservoir species of a large number of viruses, we used a metagenomic approach to investigate the CRESS DNA virus diversity in Pacific flying fox (Pteropus tonganus) faeces. Faecal matter from four roosting sites located in Ha'avakatolo, Kolovai, Ha'ateiho and Lapaha on Tongatapu Island was collected in April 2014 and January 2015. From these samples we identified five novel cycloviruses representing three putative species, 25 gemycircularviruses representing at least 14 putative species, 17 other CRESS DNA viruses (15 putative species), two circular DNA molecules and a putative novel multi-component virus for which we have identified three cognate molecules. This study demonstrates that there exists a large diversity of CRESS DNA viruses in Pacific flying fox faeces.

A diverse group of small circular ssDNA viral genomes in human and non-human primate stools

Viral metagenomics sequencing of fecal samples from outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis from the US revealed the presence of small circular ssDNA viral genomes encoding a replication initiator protein (Rep). Viral genomes were ∼2.5 kb in length, with bi-directionally oriented Rep and capsid (Cap) encoding genes and a stem loop structure downstream of Rep. Several genomes showed evidence of recombination. By digital screening of an in-house virome database (1.04 billion reads) using BLAST, we identified closely related sequences from cases of unexplained diarrhea in France. Deep sequencing and PCR detected such genomes in 7 of 25 US (28 percent) and 14 of 21 French outbreaks (67 percent). One of eighty-five sporadic diarrhea cases in the Gambia was positive by PCR. Twenty-two complete genomes were characterized showing that viruses from patients in the same outbreaks were closely related suggesting common origins. Similar genomes were also characterized from the stools of captive chimpanzees, a gorilla, a black howler monkey, and a lemur that were more diverse than the human stool-associated genomes. The name smacovirus is proposed for this monophyletic viral clade. Possible tropism include mammalian enteric cells or ingested food components such as infected plants. No evidence of viral amplification was found in immunodeficient mice orally inoculated with smacovirus-positive stool supernatants. A role for smacoviruses in diarrhea, if any, remains to be demonstrated.

Discovery, Prevalence, and Persistence of Novel Circular Single-Stranded DNA Viruses in the Ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata

Gelatinous zooplankton, such as ctenophores and jellyfish, are important components of marine and brackish ecosystems and play critical roles in aquatic biogeochemistry. As voracious predators of plankton, ctenophores have key positions in aquatic food webs and are often successful invaders when introduced to new areas. Gelatinous zooplankton have strong impacts on ecosystem services, particularly in coastal environments. However, little is known about the factors responsible for regulating population dynamics of gelatinous organisms, including biological interactions that may contribute to bloom demise. Ctenophores are known to contain specific bacterial communities and a variety of invertebrate parasites and symbionts; however, no previous studies have examined the presence of viruses in these organisms. Building upon recent studies demonstrating a diversity of single-stranded DNA viruses that encode a replication initiator protein (Rep) in aquatic invertebrates, this study explored the presence of circular, Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses in the ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata collected from the Skidaway River Estuary and Savannah River in Georgia, USA. Using rolling circle amplification followed by restriction enzyme digestion, this study provides the first evidence of viruses in ctenophores. Investigation of four CRESS-DNA viruses over an 8-month period using PCR demonstrated temporal trends in viral prevalence and indicated that some of the viruses may persist in ctenophore populations throughout the year. Although future work needs to examine the ecological roles of these ctenophore-associated viruses, this study indicates that viral infection may play a role in population dynamics of gelatinous zooplankton.

Comparative paleovirological analysis of crustaceans identifies multiple widespread viral groups

Background

The discovery of many fragments of viral genomes integrated in the genome of their eukaryotic host (endogenous viral elements; EVEs) has recently opened new avenues to further our understanding of viral evolution and of host-virus interactions. Here, we report the results of a comprehensive screen for EVEs in crustaceans. Following up on the recent discovery of EVEs in the terrestrial isopod, Armadillidium vulgare, we scanned the genomes of six crustacean species: a terrestrial isopod (Armadillidium nasatum), two water fleas (Daphnia pulex and D. pulicaria), two copepods (the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Eurytemora affinis), and a freshwater amphipod (Hyalella azteca).

Results

In total, we found 210 EVEs representing 14 different lineages belonging to five different viral groups that are present in two to five species: Bunyaviridae (−ssRNA), Circoviridae (ssDNA), Mononegavirales (−ssRNA), Parvoviridae (ssDNA) and Totiviridae (dsRNA). The identification of shared orthologous insertions between A. nasatum and A. vulgare indicates that EVEs have been maintained over several millions of years, although we did not find any evidence supporting exaptation. Overall, the different degrees of EVE degradation (from none to >10 nonsense mutations) suggest that endogenization has been recurrent during the evolution of the various crustacean taxa. Our study is the first to report EVEs in D. pulicaria, E. affinis and H. azteca, many of which are likely to result from recent endogenization of currently circulating viruses.

Conclusions

In conclusion, we have unearthed a large diversity of EVEs from crustacean genomes, and shown that four of the five viral groups we uncovered (Bunyaviridae, Circoviridae, Mononegavirales, Parvoviridae) were and may still be present in three to four highly divergent crustacean taxa. In addition, the discovery of recent EVEs offers an interesting opportunity to characterize new exogenous viruses currently circulating in economically or ecologically important copepod species.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13100-015-0047-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Novel circular single-stranded DNA viruses identified in marine invertebrates reveal high sequence diversity and consistent predicted intrinsic disorder patterns within putative structural proteins

Viral metagenomics has recently revealed the ubiquitous and diverse nature of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses that encode a conserved replication initiator protein (Rep) in the marine environment. Although eukaryotic circular Rep-encoding ssDNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses were originally thought to only infect plants and vertebrates, recent studies have identified these viruses in a number of invertebrates. To further explore CRESS-DNA viruses in the marine environment, this study surveyed CRESS-DNA viruses in various marine invertebrate species. A total of 27 novel CRESS-DNA genomes, with Reps that share less than 60.1% identity with previously reported viruses, were recovered from 21 invertebrate species, mainly crustaceans. Phylogenetic analysis based on the Rep revealed a novel clade of CRESS-DNA viruses that included approximately one third of the marine invertebrate associated viruses identified here and whose members may represent a novel family. Investigation of putative capsid proteins (Cap) encoded within the eukaryotic CRESS-DNA viral genomes from this study and those in GenBank demonstrated conserved patterns of predicted intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), which can be used to complement similarity-based searches to identify divergent structural proteins within novel genomes. Overall, this study expands our knowledge of CRESS-DNA viruses associated with invertebrates and explores a new tool to evaluate divergent structural proteins encoded by these viruses.

Deciphering diversity and ecological function from marine metagenomes

Metagenomic sequencing now represents a common, powerful approach for investigating diversity and functional relationships in marine ecosystems. High-throughput datasets generated from random fragments of environmental DNA can provide a less biased view of organismal abundance (versus PCR-based amplicon sequencing) and enable novel exploration of microbial genomes by recovering genome assemblies from uncultured species, identifying ecological functions, and reconstructing metabolic pathways. This review highlights the current state of knowledge in marine metagenomics, focusing on biological insights gained from recent environmental studies and detailing commonly employed methods for data collection and analysis.

Chimeric viruses blur the borders between the major groups of eukaryotic single-stranded DNA viruses

Metagenomic studies have uncovered an astonishing diversity of ssDNA viruses encoding replication proteins (Reps) related to those of eukaryotic Circoviridae, Geminiviridae or Nanoviridae; however, exact evolutionary relationships among these viruses remain obscure. Recently, a unique chimeric virus (CHIV) genome, which has apparently emerged via recombination between ssRNA and ssDNA viruses, has been discovered. Here we report on the assembly of 13 new CHIV genomes recovered from various environments. Our results indicate a single event of capsid protein (CP) gene capture from an RNA virus in the history of this virus group. The domestication of the CP gene was followed by an unprecedented recurrent replacement of the Rep genes in CHIVs with distant counterparts from diverse ssDNA viruses. We suggest that parasitic and symbiotic interactions between unicellular eukaryotes were central for the emergence of CHIVs and that such turbulent evolution was primarily dictated by incongruence between the CP and Rep proteins.

A Circo-Like Virus Isolated from Penaeus monodon Shrimps

A virus with a circular Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) (CRESS-DNA) genome (PmCV-1) was isolated from Penaeus monodon shrimps in Vietnam. The gene structure of the 1,777-nucleotide (nt) genome was similar to that of circoviruses and cycloviruses, but the nucleic acid and protein sequence identities to these viruses were very low.

Variations in abundance, genome size, morphology, and functional role of the virioplankton in Lakes Annecy and Bourget over a 1-year period

We sampled the surface waters (2-50 m) of two deep peri-alpine lakes over a 1-year period in order to examine (1) the abundance, vertical distribution, genome size, and morphology structures of the virioplankton; (2) the virus-mediated bacterial mortality; and (3) the specific genome size range of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) phytoplankton viruses. Virus-like particle (VLP) concentrations varied between 4.16 × 10(7) (January) and 2.08 × 10(8) part mL(-1) (May) in Lake Bourget and between 2.7 × 10(7) (June) and 8.39 × 10(7) part mL(-1) (November) in Lake Annecy. Our flow cytometry analysis revealed at least three viral groups (referred to as virus-like particles 1, 2, and 3) that exhibited distinctive dynamics suggestive of different host types. Phage-induced bacterial mortality varied between 6.1% (June) and 33.2% (October) in Lake Bourget and between 7.4% (June) and 52.6% (November) in Lake Annecy, suggesting that viral lysis may be a key cause of mortality of the bacterioplankton. Virioplankton genome size ranged from 27 to 486 kb in Lake Bourget, while it reached 620 kb in Lake Annecy for which larger genome sizes were recorded. Our analysis of pulsed field gel electrophoresis bands using different PCR primers targeting both cyanophages and algal viruses showed that (1) dsDNA viruses infecting phytoplankton may range from 65 to 486 kb, and (2) both cyanophage and algal "diversity" were higher in Lake Annecy. Lakes Annecy and Bourget also differed regarding the proportions of both viral families (with the dominance of myoviruses vs. podoviruses) and infected bacterial morphotypes (short rods vs. elongated rods), in each of these lakes, respectively. Overall, our results reveal that (1) viruses displayed distinct temporal and vertical distribution, dynamics, community structure in terms of genome size and morphology, and viral activity in the two lakes; (2) the Myoviridae seemed to be the main cause of bacterial mortality in both lakes and this group seemed to be related to VLP2; and (3) phytoplankton viruses may have a broader range of genome size than previously thought. This study adds to growing evidence that viruses are diverse and play a significant role in freshwater microbial dynamics and more globally lake functioning. It highlights the importance of further considering this biological compartment for a better understanding of plankton ecology in peri-alpine lakes.

Antagonistic coevolution of marine planktonic viruses and their hosts

The potential for antagonistic coevolution between marine viruses and their (primarily bacterial) hosts is well documented, but our understanding of the consequences of this rapid evolution is in its infancy. Acquisition of resistance against co-occurring viruses and the subsequent evolution of virus host range in response have implications for bacterial mortality rates as well as for community composition and diversity. Drawing on examples from a range of environments, we consider the potential dynamics, underlying genetic mechanisms and fitness costs, and ecological impacts of virus-host coevolution in marine waters. Given that much of our knowledge is derived from laboratory experiments, we also discuss potential challenges and approaches in scaling up to diverse, complex networks of virus-host interactions. Finally, we note that a variety of novel approaches for characterizing virus-host interactions offer new hope for a mechanistic understanding of antagonistic coevolution in marine plankton.

Discovery of urchin-associated densoviruses (family Parvoviridae) in coastal waters of the Big Island, Hawaii

Echinoderms are important constituents of marine ecosystems, where they may influence the recruitment success of benthic flora and fauna, and are important consumers of detritus and plant materials. There are currently no described viruses of echinoderms. We used a viral metagenomic approach to examine viral consortia within three urchins - Colobocentrotus atratus, Tripneustes gratilla and Echinometra mathaei - which are common constituents of reef communities in the Hawaiian archipelago. Metagenomic libraries revealed the presence of bacteriophages and densoviruses (family Parvoviridae) in tissues of all three urchins. Densoviruses are known typically to infect terrestrial and aquatic arthropods. Urchin-associated densoviruses were detected by quantitative PCR in all tissues tested, and were also detected in filtered suspended matter (>0.2 µm) from plankton and in sediments at several locations near to where the urchins were collected for metagenomic analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of echinoderm-associated viruses, which extends the known host range of parvoviruses.

Metabolic reprogramming by viruses in the sunlit and dark ocean

Background

Marine ecosystem function is largely determined by matter and energy transformations mediated by microbial community interaction networks. Viral infection modulates network properties through mortality, gene transfer and metabolic reprogramming.

Results

Here we explore the nature and extent of viral metabolic reprogramming throughout the Pacific Ocean depth continuum. We describe 35 marine viral gene families with potential to reprogram metabolic flux through central metabolic pathways recovered from Pacific Ocean waters. Four of these families have been previously reported but 31 are novel. These known and new carbon pathway auxiliary metabolic genes were recovered from a total of 22 viral metagenomes in which viral auxiliary metabolic genes were differentiated from low-level cellular DNA inputs based on small subunit ribosomal RNA gene content, taxonomy, fragment recruitment and genomic context information. Auxiliary metabolic gene distribution patterns reveal that marine viruses target overlapping, but relatively distinct pathways in sunlit and dark ocean waters to redirect host carbon flux towards energy production and viral genome replication under low nutrient, niche-differentiated conditions throughout the depth continuum.

Conclusions

Given half of ocean microbes are infected by viruses at any given time, these findings of broad viral metabolic reprogramming suggest the need for renewed consideration of viruses in global ocean carbon models.

Metagenomic identification of a nodavirus and a circular ssDNA virus in semi-purified viral nucleic acids from the hepatopancreas of healthy Farfantepenaeus duorarum shrimp

Fisheries and aquaculture are impacted sporadically by newly emerged viral diseases. In most cases, searches for a causative pathogen only occur after a serious disease has emerged. As random shotgun sequencing (metagenomics) offers opportunities to identify novel viruses preemptively, the method was tested on nucleic acids extracted from the hepatopancreas of 12 healthy northern pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum captured from the Gulf of Mexico. Among the sequences, a nodavirus (Farfantepenaeus duorarum nodavirus, FdNV) and a virus with similarities to circoviruses and cycloviruses that possess circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes, were identified. The FdNV genome sequence was most closely related phylogenetically to nodaviruses causing white tail disease in Macrobrachium rosenbergii and muscle necrosis disease in Litopenaeus vannamei. While the circular ssDNA virus represents the third to be detected in association with a marine invertebrate, transmission trials are needed to confirm its infectivity for F. duorarum. This study highlights the potential for using metagenomic approaches in fisheries and aquaculture industries to identify new potential pathogens in asymptomatic marine invertebrates, uncharacterized pathogens causing a new disease, or multiple pathogens associated with disease syndromes.

A virocentric perspective on the evolution of life

Viruses and/or virus-like selfish elements are associated with all cellular life forms and are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, with the number of virus particles in many environments exceeding the number of cells by one to two orders of magnitude. The genetic diversity of viruses is commensurately enormous and might substantially exceed the diversity of cellular organisms. Unlike cellular organisms with their uniform replication-expression scheme, viruses possess either RNA or DNA genomes and exploit all conceivable replication-expression strategies. Although viruses extensively exchange genes with their hosts, there exists a set of viral hallmark genes that are shared by extremely diverse groups of viruses to the exclusion of cellular life forms. Coevolution of viruses and host defense systems is a key aspect in the evolution of both viruses and cells, and viral genes are often recruited for cellular functions. Together with the fundamental inevitability of the emergence of genomic parasites in any evolving replicator system, these multiple lines of evidence reveal the central role of viruses in the entire evolution of life.

New Volvovirus Isolates from Acheta domesticus (Japan) and Gryllus assimilis (United States)

A novel circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus, volvovirus, from the house cricket has been described recently. Here, we report the isolation of volvoviruses from Acheta domesticus in Japan and Gryllus assimilis in the United States. These Acheta domesticus volvovirus (AdVVV) isolates have genomes of 2,517 and 2,516 nucleotides (nt) and 4 large open reading frames (ORFs).

Acheta domesticus Volvovirus, a Novel Single-Stranded Circular DNA Virus of the House Cricket

The genome of a novel virus of the house cricket consists of a 2,517-nucleotide (nt) circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecule with 4 open reading frames (ORFs). One ORF had a low identity to circovirus nucleotide sequences (NS). The unique properties of this volvovirus suggested that it belongs to a new virus family or genus.