Global dominance of <i>Haloquadratum walsbyi</i> by a single genomovar with distinct gene content and viral cohorts from close relatives

Haloquadratum walsbyi is generally the dominant species in hypersaline ecosystems at salt saturation conditions. Here, we followed the dynamics of its genomovars and associated viruses during recurrent evaporation-dilution disturbances of varying intensities at the mesocosm scale over 813 days. The diversity observed within a single mesocosm was also compared with that in a global-scale inventory of hypersaline environments of thalassohaline origin. The 140 binned metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) together with the genomes of the (only) two available of H. walsbyi isolates grouped into four highly related (98.25% > Average Nucleotide Identity [ANI] > 99.5%) dominant genomovars (intra-genomovar ANI > 99.5%). In mesocosm experiments, moderate disturbances (i.e. recurrent dilution from saturation to 20% salts) enhanced the abundance of the already-dominant genomovar Hqrw1, resulting in reduced intraspecific diversity. This genomovar also dominated in almost all sites sampled around the globe. In contrast, more intense disturbance (i.e. recurrent dilution from saturation to 13% salts) decreased the abundance of Hqrw1 to lower levels than genomovar Hqrw2 by the end of the incubation, which seems to resist better osmotic changes. Further, our results showed that genomovars were followed by their viral cohorts, who play a significant role in the global dominance of the four H. walsbyi genomovars and their replacement under unfavorable conditions. We propose that the global dominance of H. walsbyi in thalassohaline hypersaline sites is enabled by both the success of Hqrw1 in high but stable salinities and the larger resistance of Hqrw2 to extreme osmotic stress, safeguarding the presence of the species in the system.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The ISME Journal
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf165
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.50

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Global dominance of Haloquadratum walsbyi by a single genomovar with distinct gene content and viral cohorts from close relatives

Fernando Santos, Luis M. Rodriguez‐R, Ana S. Ramírez, Souad Amiour et al.
2 citations
The ISME Journal
Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
3.50
article

Global dominance of Haloquadratum walsbyi by a single genomovar with distinct gene content and viral cohorts from close relatives

Fernando Santos, Luis M. Rodriguez‐R, Ana S. Ramírez, Souad Amiour, Bonnie K. Baxter, Juan F. Gago, Matthew B. Stott, Brian P. Hedlund, Tomeu Viver, Stephanus N. Venter, Konstantinos Konstantinidis, María Eugenia Llames, Esteban Bustos-Caparros, Rafael Bosch, Juanita R. Avontuur, Ramon Rosselló‐Móra, Aharon Oren, Mehmet Burçin Mutlu
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Haloquadratum walsbyi is generally the dominant species in hypersaline ecosystems at salt saturation conditions. Here, we followed the dynamics of its genomovars and associated viruses during recurrent evaporation-dilution disturbances of varying intensities at the mesocosm scale over 813 days. The diversity observed within a single mesocosm was also compared with that in a global-scale inventory of hypersaline environments of thalassohaline origin. The 140 binned metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) together with the genomes of the (only) two available of H. walsbyi isolates grouped into four highly related (98.25% > Average Nucleotide Identity [ANI] > 99.5%) dominant genomovars (intra-genomovar ANI > 99.5%). In mesocosm experiments, moderate disturbances (i.e. recurrent dilution from saturation to 20% salts) enhanced the abundance of the already-dominant genomovar Hqrw1, resulting in reduced intraspecific diversity. This genomovar also dominated in almost all sites sampled around the globe. In contrast, more intense disturbance (i.e. recurrent dilution from saturation to 13% salts) decreased the abundance of Hqrw1 to lower levels than genomovar Hqrw2 by the end of the incubation, which seems to resist better osmotic changes. Further, our results showed that genomovars were followed by their viral cohorts, who play a significant role in the global dominance of the four H. walsbyi genomovars and their replacement under unfavorable conditions. We propose that the global dominance of H. walsbyi in thalassohaline hypersaline sites is enabled by both the success of Hqrw1 in high but stable salinities and the larger resistance of Hqrw2 to extreme osmotic stress, safeguarding the presence of the species in the system.

The ISME JournalVol. 19(1)
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES), University Frères Mentouri Constantine 1 (DZ), University of Alicante (ES), Georgia Institute of Technology (US), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US), Westminster University (US), University of Canterbury (NZ), Universität Innsbruck (AT), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL), Eskisehir Technical University (TR), Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (SI), Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (HU), Digital Science (United States) (US), Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (ES), National Library of Israel (IL), Bioengineering Center (RU), Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (AR), Université Constantine 2 (DZ), Universitat de les Illes Balears (ES), University of Pretoria (ZA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Federation of European Microbiological Societies, European Commission, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Universität Innsbruck
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
3.50
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.