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DNA polymerase phylogeny recapitulates virioplankton biology
Author(s) -
Schmidt Helen Frances,
Sakowski Eric G,
Williamson Shan J,
Polson Shawn W,
Wommack K Eric
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.540.2
Subject(s) - biology , metagenomics , lytic cycle , lysogenic cycle , dna polymerase , genetics , phylogenetic tree , polymerase , clade , dna , bacteriophage , evolutionary biology , gene , virus , escherichia coli
Despite decades of investigation, we know little of the predominant biological characteristics of aquatic viruses that drive the rapid turnover of abundant virioplankton assemblages. DNA polymerases are essential to replication and thus enable connections between diversity and an important biological feature of viruses. Novel DNA polymerases, containing all critical functional domains, were common within dsDNA and ssDNA virioplankton metagenomic libraries. Finding DNA polymerases in ssDNA libraries was unexpected, as these genes have not been observed within ssDNA viruses. Comparison of PCR‐amplified environmental DNA pol sequences with virioplankton metagenome sequences showed that the majority of the metagenomic polymerase sequences grouped away from previously identified groups of viral DNA polymerases forming a new group that included siphoviruses. An F762L amino acid substitution was observed within this dominant clade. Phylogenetic analysis of phages with known life cycles indicates that an F/Y762L substitution is a strong predictor of lysogeny, indicating that slower‐replicating, lytic or lysogenic phage populations may predominate within the virioplankton and shape the influence of viruses on marine biogeochemical cycles. This work was funded by the HHMI Undergraduate Science Education program the NSF Microbial Genome Sequencing Program, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, and Delaware EPSCoR.