The communities and functional profiles of virioplankton along a salinity gradient in a subtropical estuary
Abstract
Viruses are the major drivers shaping microorganismal communities, and impact marine biogeochemical cycling. They are affected by various environmental parameters, such as salinity. Although the spatiotemporal distribution and dynamics of virioplankton have been extensively studied in saline environments, few detailed studies of community structure and function of viruses along salinity gradients have been conducted. Here, we used the 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing from a subtropical estuary (Pearl River Estuary, PRE; located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China) to explore how viral community composition and function vary along a salinity gradient. Results showed that the detected viruses were mainly bacteriophages. The double-stranded DNA viruses were the most abundant (especially Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Mimiviridae, Phycodnaviridae, and Podoviridae), followed by a small number of single-stranded DNA (Circoviridae) and RNA (Retroviridae) viruses. Viral biodiversity significantly declined and community structure varied greatly along the salinity gradient. The salinity, ammonium and dissolved oxygen were dominated factors influencing the community composition of viruses. Association network analys...Continue Reading
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