Biosciences Area

  • About Biosciences
    • Leadership
    • Area Operations Centers
    • Strategic Plan and Reports
    • Strategic Programs Development Group
    • Contact Information
  • Our Science
    • Area Programs
    • Strategic Initiatives
    • Biological Systems and Engineering
    • Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology
    • Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging
    • DOE Joint Genome Institute
  • Media and Events
    • News
    • Announcements
    • Behind the Breakthroughs
    • Events Calendar
    • Seminar Series
  • Staff Resources
    • Commonly Used Acronyms
    • Communications
    • Hiring and Recruitment
    • Hybrid & Telework Resources
    • IDEA
    • Intellectual Property, Industry Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
    • LDRD Information
    • Logos and Templates
    • Mentoring Program
  • Search

JGI Finds Novel Giant Viruses in Forest Soils

November 19, 2018

The JGI team involved in the study included (left to right): first author Frederik Schulz; senior author Tanja Woyke; Rex Malmstrom; and, Danielle Goudeau (sitting). (Janey Lee)
The JGI team involved in the study included (left to right): first author Frederik Schulz; senior author Tanja Woyke; Rex Malmstrom; and, Danielle Goudeau (sitting). (Janey Lee)

In Nature Communications, giant virus genomes have been discovered for the first time in a forest soil ecosystem by researchers from the JGI and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass Amherst). The giant virus genomes were discovered by JGI research scientist Frederik Schulz while helping Lauren Alteio, a UMass Amherst graduate student in Jeff Blanchard’s lab, analyze her metagenomic data. JGI researchers used a “mini-metagenomics” approach to reduce the complexity of the soil microbial communities, uncovering 15 novel giant virus genomes.

“Soils have been an overlooked ecosystem for giant virus diversity, with studies mostly focused on aquatic environments. The unbinned metagenome soil data suggests that the extent of giant virus diversity in Harvard forest soil is much higher than the 16 genomes recovered in this study, but accessing the genomes with traditional approaches is challenging,” said JGI Microbial Program head and study senior author Tanja Woyke. Click here to learn more on the JGI website.

Was this page useful?

Send
like not like

About Biosciences

  • Leadership
  • Area Operations Centers
  • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability (IDEA)
  • Contact

Divisions & User Facility

  • Biological Systems and Engineering
  • Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology
  • Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging
  • DOE Joint Genome Institute

Resources

  • A-Z Index
  • Phonebook
  • Logos
  • Acronyms
  • Integrated Safety Management
Questions & Comments
Follow us: Mastodon LinkedIn YouTube