Polinton-like virus diversity in aquatic ecosystems

Viruses are often thought of as a human problem, however they are the most abundant biological entities on the planet. There are millions of viruses in every drop of river, lake or seawater, they are found everywhere there is life and probably infect all living organisms. Most are completely harmless to humans and infect microscopic animals, plants and bacteria, which they hijack and reprogram to produce new virus particles. Every day, viruses destroy a huge number of microorganisms in the environment, which changes the flow of energy in food webs on global scales. Recently, we discovered a new group of viruses in the high mountain lake, Gossenköllesee, Tyrol, which are called `Polinton-like viruses`. We found they are also present in rivers and lakes around the world, however, we have little information on who they infect and how they may be interacting with their hosts. This project will investigate Polinton-like virus diversity in many lakes across Tyrol. We will use a technique called metagenomics to sequence large amounts of DNA from the water. We aim to decode new virus genomes to reveal which microbial organisms they infect, and how this infection may influence host populations of algae and other single celled microorganisms. Hence uncover previously overlooked controls on the microbial community in freshwater ecosystems. For the second phase of the project, we will also be working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Minnesota and the Nebraska centre for virology to examine the wider diversity of these new viruses across the continental USA and beyond.