Viral metagenomics reveals diverse virus-host interactions throughout the soil depth profile

Soil viruses can moderate the roles that their host microbes play in global carbon cycling. However, given that most studies investigate the surface layer (i.e., top 20 cm) of soil, the extent to which this occurs in subsurface soil (i.e., below 20 cm) is unknown. Here, we leveraged public sequencin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:mBio 2023-12, Vol.14 (6), p.e0224623
Main Authors: Muscatt, George, Cook, Ryan, Millard, Andrew, Bending, Gary D, Jameson, Eleanor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
antagonistic co-evolution
bacteriophages
lysogeny
macrodiversity
Microbial Ecology
microdiversity
positive selection
Research Article
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Summary:Soil viruses can moderate the roles that their host microbes play in global carbon cycling. However, given that most studies investigate the surface layer (i.e., top 20 cm) of soil, the extent to which this occurs in subsurface soil (i.e., below 20 cm) is unknown. Here, we leveraged public sequencing data to investigate the interactions between viruses and their hosts at soil depth intervals, down to 115 cm. While most viruses were detected throughout the soil depth profile, their adaptation to host microbes varied. Nonetheless, we uncovered evidence for the potential of soil viruses to encourage their hosts to recycle plant-derived carbon in both surface and subsurface soils. This work reasons that our understanding of soil viral functions requires us to continue to dig deeper and compare viruses existing throughout soil ecosystems.
ISSN:2150-7511
2150-7511
DOI:10.1128/mbio.02246-23