Viruses of Haloarchaea

Life

Alison W. S. Luk¹  Timothy J. Williams¹  Susanne Erdmann¹  R. Thane Papke²  Ricardo Cavicchioli¹  Michael W. W. Adams³  Hans-Peter Klenk³ 

[1] School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia; E-Mails:;Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3125, USA; E-Mail:School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia;

关键词: viral lineage;    viral evolution;    virus life cycle;    capsid protein;    persistent;    temperate;    virulent infection;    CRISPR;    host defense;    evasion invasion mechanism;    integrase;    genome variation;    salty;    halophile;   

DOI  :  10.3390/life4040681

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In hypersaline environments, haloarchaea (halophilic members of the Archaea) are the dominant organisms, and the viruses that infect them, haloarchaeoviruses are at least ten times more abundant. Since their discovery in 1974, described haloarchaeoviruses include head-tailed, pleomorphic, spherical and spindle-shaped morphologies, representing Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Podoviridae, Pleolipoviridae, Sphaerolipoviridae and Fuselloviridae families. This review overviews current knowledge of haloarchaeoviruses, providing information about classification, morphotypes, macromolecules, life cycles, genetic manipulation and gene regulation, and host-virus responses. In so doing, the review incorporates knowledge from laboratory studies of isolated viruses, field-based studies of environmental samples, and both genomic and metagenomic analyses of haloarchaeoviruses. What emerges is that some haloarchaeoviruses possess unique morphological and life cycle properties, while others share features with other viruses (e.g., bacteriophages). Their interactions with hosts influence community structure and evolution of populations that exist in hypersaline environments as diverse as seawater evaporation ponds, to hot desert or Antarctic lakes. The discoveries of their wide-ranging and important roles in the ecology and evolution of hypersaline communities serves as a strong motivator for future investigations of both laboratory-model and environmental systems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.