Genomic catalogue of giant viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential
Abstract
Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA and Mirusviricota viruses exhibit taxonomic richness which continually expands due to metagenomic sequencing. Here we curate a database of giant virus metagenome-assembled genomes (GVMAGs V2), comprising 8,508 species-level representatives from 18,727 GVMAGs, a sixfold increase from the previous giant virus phylogenetic frameworks. Phylogenomics revealed 712 previously undescribed genera, 13 previously unknown viral families and an order we propose named Mycodnavirales. By accounting for alternative and custom genetic codes, we improved gene calling in over 1,300 GVMAGs, enabling more accurate identification of protein-coding genes. Database mining uncovered putative endogenous viral elements in hosts spanning algae, fungi and parasitic protists, highlighting that giant virus integration is widespread and evolutionarily persistent. Protein-level analysis revealed enriched genes for pollutant degradation in Algavirales and widespread biosynthetic gene clusters linked to antimicrobial-like and antibiotic resistance gene-like activity. This public resource will serve as a foundation for expanding giant virus diversity, uncovering virus–host interactions and exploring viral evolution. This curated genome-resolved, metagenomic resource expands the known diversity of Nucleocytoviricota and Mirusviricota lineages.
// Source
Authors: Yumary M. Vasquez, Tiago Nardi, Gbocho Masato Terasaki, Petra K Byl, Tomáš Brůna, Juan C. Villada, Miguel F. Romero, Thomas Möck, Timothy Y. James, Katherine D. McMahon, Rick Cavicchioli, Steven Hallam, Barbara Campbell, Byron Crump, Dana Hunt, Karthik Anantharaman, Holly Simon, R. Michael McKay, David Walsh, Joan Slonczewski, Konstantinos Konstantinidis, David L. Valentine, Neslihan Taş, Pia Moisander, Roland Hatzenpichler, Matthew Sullivan, Sean Crowe, Nathan Ahlgren, Tanja Woyke, Frederik Schulz
Institutions: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of British Columbia, The Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Oregon Health & Science University, Duke University, UNSW Sydney, Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Oregon State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Pavia, Concordia University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Montana State University, University of East Anglia, Clemson University, University of Windsor, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States Department of Energy, Clark University, Joint Genome Institute, University of California, Merced, Ecologie microbienne, Kenyon College