title: Analysis of dsDNA and RNA viromes in methanogenic digesters reveals novel viral genetic diversity.
abstract: Although viruses are not the key players of the anaerobic digestion process, they may affect the dynamics of bacterial and archaeal populations involved in biogas production. Until now viruses have received very little attention in this specific habitat; therefore, as a first step towards their characterization, we optimized a virus filtration protocol from anaerobic sludge. Afterwards, to assess dsDNA and RNA viral diversity in sludge samples from nine different reactors fed either with waste water, agricultural residues or solid municipal waste plus agro-food residues, we performed metagenomic analyses. As a result we showed that, while the dsDNA viromes (21 assigned families in total) were dominated by dsDNA phages of the order Caudovirales, RNA viruses (14 assigned families in total) were less diverse and were for the main part plant-infecting viruses. Interestingly, less than 2% of annotated contigs were assigned as putative human and animal pathogens. Our study greatly extends the existing view of viral genetic diversity in methanogenic reactors and shows that these viral assemblages are distinct not only among the reactor types but also from nearly 30 other environments already studied, including the human gut, fermented food, deep sea sediments and other aquatic habitats.
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN), 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calusinska
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN), 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.|Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk, ul. Kladki 24, 80-822, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Martyna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marynowska
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN), 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Goux
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Materials Research and Technology (MRT), 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lentzen
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN), 41 rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delfosse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D019605:Euryarchaeota / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D005285:Fermentation; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D056186:Metagenomics; D008697:Methane / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012722:Sewage; D004247:DNA; D008697:Methane