Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ARCVIR (Archaeal Virology: unravelling the mechanisms of interviral warfare)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2025-02-28
Archaea are ubiquitous microorganisms that are found in numerous surroundings ranging from extreme environments to the ocean and the human gut and skin. Marine archaea have a huge impact on biogeochemical cycles and the climate, while archaea in the gut influence the human microbiome and health. Archaea can be infected by unusual viruses that are structurally very diverse and have unique infection mechanisms. As viruses are the major predator of archaea, they shape archaeal communities. This project will visualize the mechanisms that viruses use to fight each other to gain access to host cells. This knowledge of viral mechanisms can, for example, be applied to control archaeal populations to increase human gut health or to reduce the production of the harmful greenhouse gas methane by gut archaea of ruminants.
For more information: check www.quaxlab.org
For more information: check www.quaxlab.org
Viruses from different families were analyzed for their capacity to exclude infection by other viruses, a process called superinfection exclusion. We identified several viruses that serve as model for further studies into the mechanism of superinfection exclusion.
Insight into the molecular mechanism of superinfection exclusion in archaea is currently scarce. These results are the stepping stone for further study of these mechanisms in archaea. This is important to fully understand the role of viruses in natural ecosystems, where viral presence is high.