title: Remarkable morphological diversity of viruses and virus-like particles in hot terrestrial environments.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie und Archaeenzentrum, Universität Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rachel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bettstetter
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Hedlund
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Häring
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Stetter
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prangishvili
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media