Remarkable morphological diversity of viruses and virus-like particles in hot terrestrial environments.
Electron microscopic studies of the viruses in two hot springs (85 degrees C, pH 1.5-2.0, and 75-93 degrees C, pH 6.5) in Yellowstone National Park revealed particles with twelve different morphotypes. This diversity encompassed known viruses of hyperthermophilic archaea, filamentous Lipothrixviridae, rod-shaped Rudiviridae, and spindle-shaped Fuselloviridae, and novel morphotypes previously not observed in nature. Two virus types resembled head-and-tail bacteriophages from the families Siphoviridae and Podoviridae, and constituted the first observation of these viruses in a hydrothermal environment. Viral hosts in the acidic spring were members of the hyperthermophilic archaeal genus Acidianus.
Rachel
R
R
Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie und Archaeenzentrum, Universität Regensburg, Germany.
Bettstetter
M
M
Hedlund
B P
BP
Häring
M
M
Kessler
A
A
Stetter
K O
KO
Prangishvili
D
D
D001105:Archaea / Q000821:virology*; D023641:Archaeal Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003470:Culture Media; D019241:Fuselloviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D023643:Lipothrixviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D017902:Podoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D023642:Rudiviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017906:Siphoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014959:Wyoming
D003470:Culture Media