Viruses Of Extreme Environments

Extremophilic viruses inhabit even the most extreme environments, such as underwater and terrestrial hydrothermal vents, deserts, subpolar areas, deep subsurface sediments, hypersaline environments, and alkaline lakes. These are mainly viruses that infect bacteria (belonging to the Myoviridae and Siphoviridae families) and archaea (classified to the families Lipothrixviridae, Rudiviridae, Yueviridae, Ampullaviridae, Globuloviridae, Sphaerolipoviridae, Bicaudaviridae, Fuselloviridae, Guttaviridae, Clavaviridae, and Turriviridae), some of which have not been fully classified. Extremoviruses have genetic material mainly in the form of dsDNA, both circular and linear, whose average length varies between 14 and 80kbp and is optimal because it is not degraded by high or low temperature, salt solutions or elevated pressure, and encodes all features necessary to function in extreme conditions. This also confirms the much higher resistance of DNA to external factors compared to delicate RNA. Further studies on extremophilic viruses can lead to full sequencing of their genomes, recognition of genes determining resistance traits to unfavorable environmental conditions, and a closer understanding of the full history of the evolution of organisms on Earth.

1. Introduction. 2. Viruses of extremely high temperatures. 2.1. Viruses of hot terrestrial springs. 2.2. Viruses of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. 3. Viruses of deserts. 4. Viruses of subpolar areas. 5. Viruses of subsurface sediments. 6. Viruses of hypersaline areas. 6.1. Viruses of freshwater lakes. 6.2 Viruses of alkaline lakes. 7. Conclusions