title: Metaviromics of Namib Desert Salt Pans: A Novel Lineage of Haloarchaeal Salterproviruses and a Rich Source of ssDNA Viruses.
abstract: Viral communities of two different salt pans located in the Namib Desert, Hosabes and Eisfeld, were investigated using a combination of multiple displacement amplification of metaviromic DNA and deep sequencing, and provided comprehensive sequence data on both ssDNA and dsDNA viral community structures. Read and contig annotations through online pipelines showed that the salt pans harbored largely unknown viral communities. Through network analysis, we were able to assign a large portion of the unknown reads to a diverse group of ssDNA viruses. Contigs belonging to the subfamily Gokushovirinae were common in both environmental datasets. Analysis of haloarchaeal virus contigs revealed the presence of three contigs distantly related with His1, indicating a possible new lineage of salterproviruses in the Hosabes playa. Based on viral richness and read mapping analyses, the salt pan metaviromes were novel and most closely related to each other while showing a low degree of overlap with other environmental viromes.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Genomics Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Natural Sciences II, Lynnwood Road, 0002 Pretoria, South Africa. evelien.adriaenssens@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Evelien M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Adriaenssens
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics, University of the Western Cape, 7535 Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa. vanzyllj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Leonardo Joaquim
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: van Zyl
authors.affiliation: Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Genomics Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Natural Sciences II, Lynnwood Road, 0002 Pretoria, South Africa. don.cowan@up.ac.za.
authors.forename: Don A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics, University of the Western Cape, 7535 Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa. ituffin@uwc.ac.za.
authors.forename: Marla I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Trindade
mesh_terms: D023641:Archaeal Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004267:DNA Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003889:Desert Climate; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009276:Namibia; D010802:Phylogeny; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: Gokushovirinae; Microviridae; Namib Desert playa; environmental viromics; haloarchaeal viruses; hypersaline; metaviromics; ssDNA viruses