Nature Communications (Jun 2021)

Ecology of inorganic sulfur auxiliary metabolism in widespread bacteriophages

  • Kristopher Kieft,
  • Zhichao Zhou,
  • Rika E. Anderson,
  • Alison Buchan,
  • Barbara J. Campbell,
  • Steven J. Hallam,
  • Matthias Hess,
  • Matthew B. Sullivan,
  • David A. Walsh,
  • Simon Roux,
  • Karthik Anantharaman

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23698-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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Some bacteriophage encode auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) that impact host metabolism and biogeochemical cycling during infection. Here the authors identify hundreds of AMGs in environmental phage encoding sulfur oxidation genes and use their global distribution to infer phage-mediated biogeochemical impacts.