title: First Insights into the Viral Communities of the Deep-sea Anoxic Brines of the Red Sea.
abstract: The deep-sea brines of the Red Sea include some of the most extreme and unique environments on Earth. They combine high salinities with increases in temperature, heavy metals, hydrostatic pressure, and anoxic conditions, creating unique settings for thriving populations of novel extremophiles. Despite a recent increase of studies focusing on these unusual biotopes, their viral communities remain unexplored. The current survey explores four metagenomic datasets obtained from different brine-seawater interface samples, focusing specifically on the diversity of their viral communities. Data analysis confirmed that the particle-attached viral communities present in the brine-seawater interfaces were diverse and generally dominated by Caudovirales, yet appearing distinct from sample to sample. With a level of caution, we report the unexpected finding of Phycodnaviridae, which infects algae and plants, and trace amounts of insect-infecting Iridoviridae. Results from Kebrit Deep revealed stratification in the viral communities present in the interface: the upper-interface was enriched with viruses associated with typical marine bacteria, while the lower-interface was enriched with haloviruses and halophages. These results provide first insights into the unexplored viral communities present in deep-sea brines of the Red Sea, representing one of the first steps for ongoing and future sampling efforts and studies.
authors.affiliation: Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: andre.antunes@kaust.edu.sa.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.affiliation: Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Intikhab
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.affiliation: Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Marta Filipa
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ari J S
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt.
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Siam
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El-Dorry
authors.affiliation: Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: vladimir.bajic@kaust.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Vladimir B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Bajic
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D017899:Caudovirales / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019156:Indian Ocean; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000379:methods; D017862:Phycodnaviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012492:Salts; D012623:Seawater / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012492:Salts; C017082:brine
keywords: Brine–seawater interface; Caudovirales; Metagenomics; Red Sea; Viral diversity