Virus movement maintains local virus population diversity
- Jamie C. Snyder*,†,
- Blake Wiedenheft*,†,
- Matthew Lavin‡,
- Francisco F. Roberto§,
- Josh Spuhler*,†,
- Alice C. Ortmann*,‡,
- Trevor Douglas*,¶,‖, and
- Mark Young*,†,‡,‖
- *Thermal Biology Institute and
- Departments of †Microbiology,
- ‡Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, and
- ¶Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717; and
- §Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415
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Communicated by George Bruening, University of California, Davis, CA, October 5, 2007 (received for review January 4, 2007)
Abstract
Viruses are the largest reservoir of genetic material on the planet, yet little is known about the population dynamics of any virus within its natural environment. Over a 2-year period, we monitored the diversity of two archaeal viruses found in hot springs within Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Both temporal phylogeny and neutral biodiversity models reveal that virus diversity in these local environments is not being maintained by mutation but rather by high rates of immigration from a globally distributed metacommunity. These results indicate that geographically isolated hot springs are readily able to exchange viruses. The importance of virus movement is supported by the detection of virus particles in air samples collected over YNP hot springs and by their detection in metacommunity sequencing projects conducted in the Sargasso Sea. Rapid rates of virus movement are not expected to be unique to these archaeal viruses but rather a common feature among virus metacommunities. The finding that virus immigration rather than mutation can dominate community structure has significant implications for understanding virus circulation and the role that viruses play in ecology and evolution by providing a reservoir of mobile genetic material.
Footnotes
- ‖To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: tdouglas{at}chemistry.montana.edu or myoung{at}montana.edu
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Author contributions: J.C.S., F.F.R., T.D., and M.Y. designed research; J.C.S., F.F.R., J.S., and A.C.O. performed research; J.C.S., B.W., M.L., and M.Y. analyzed data; and J.C.S., B.W., M.L., A.C.O., T.D., and M.Y. wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0709445104/DC1.
- © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
