Abstract
Phylogenetic mapping of metagenomics data reveals the taxonomic distribution of large DNA viruses in the sea, including giant viruses of the Mimiviridae family.
Highlights
Viruses are ubiquitous and the most abundant biological entities in marine environments
We identified eight viral groups: poxviruses; chloroviruses; phaeoviruses; mimivirus and related algal viruses (Pyramimonas orientalis virus PoV01, Chrysochromulina ericina virus CeV01 and Phaeocystis pouchetii virus PpV01); iridoviruses grouped with ascoviruses; herpesviruses; baculoviruses; and one phage group
We considered the branching position of a Bfamily DNA polymerase (PolB) fragment to be supported when the resampling of estimated log likelihoods (RELL) bootstrap value for the best topology was ≥ 75%
Summary
Viruses are ubiquitous and the most abundant biological entities in marine environments. As a reservoir of 'new' genes as well as vectors of 'old' genes, viruses may significantly contribute to the evolution of microorganisms in marine ecosystems Despite this progress in characterizing the environmental significance of viruses, a quantitative description of the marine virosphere remains to be done. This includes the determination of the relative abundance of virus families and the assessment of the level of their genetic diversity. In this context, large viruses, whose particle sizes can exceed those of small bacteria [11], are of particular concern. Most of them, such as Genome Biology 2008, 9:R106 http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/R106
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