500 KB79 KB200920252025Andrejc, KristinaBačnik, KatarinaGutiérrez-Aguirre, IonJarčič, MašaKutnjak, Denisletnik:66številka:iss. 2str. 21-38DOI:10.3986/fbg0116ISSN:1855-7996COBISSID_HOST:257651971URN:URN:NBN:SI:doc-NHWOQ65WslSlovenska akademija znanosti in umetnostiFolia biologica et geologicaledenik pod SkutoSkuta glacierTriglav glacierTriglavski ledenikvirome analysisviromska analizavirusesvirusiViromska analiza RNA virusov v vzorcih Triglavskega ledenika in ledenika pod Skuto| Viromics analysis of RNA viruses in samples from the Triglav and Skuta glacier|Despite low temperatures and limited availability of water and nutrients, there is a high level of biological diversity hidden in the glaciers. Glacial microbial ecosystems are primarily composed of bacteria, algae, and fungi. However, knowledge about viruses in these extreme environments remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted virome analysis on two Slovenian glaciers: Triglavski ledenik (Triglav glacier) and ledenik pod Skuto (glacier below Skuta). From concentrated samples of melted glacial ice, we isolated ribonucleic acids (RNA), amplified them using random oligonucleotide primers, and performed untargeted sequencing using the Illumina platform. Through bioinformatic analyses, we identified viral sequences in the obtained data and classified them taxonomically. As expected, the proportion of reads classified as viral was low. Despite focusing on the description of RNA viral diversity, the most frequently detected viral reads in all glacier samples were those belonging to DNA bacteriophages, classified within the realm Duplodnaviria. Most of the viral sequences discovered in the Slovenian glacier samples showed low identity with known viral sequences in databases, indicating the presence of numerous novel viral species. Longer assembled viral sequences likely represent complete genomes of newly discovered RNA viruses (e.g., sequences related to toti-like and picorna-like virus groups). For these sequences, phylogenetic analyses revealed their closest known viral relatives and potential host organisms. This study represents the first insight into the presence of viruses in Slovenian glacier environments and reveals a large, previously unexplored diversity of these biological entitiesV ledenikih se kljub nizkim temperaturam in omejeni količini dosegljive vode ter hranil skriva velika biološka raznolikost. V ledeniških mikrobnih skupnostih prevladujejo bakterije, alge in glive. Znanje o virusih v teh ekstremnih okoljih pa je omejeno, kar smo želeli nasloviti z viromsko analizo slovenskih ledenikov: Triglavskega ledenika in ledenika pod Skuto. Iz koncentriranih vzorcev staljenega ledeniškega ledu smo izolirali ribonukleinske kisline (RNA), jih pomnožili z naključnimi oligonukleotidnimi začetniki in netarčno določili njihova zaporedja s platformo Illumina. S pomočjo bioinformatskih analiz smo v pridobljenih podatkih poiskali virusna zaporedja in jih taksonomsko uvrstili. Odstotki odčitkov, ki so se klasificirali kot virusni, so bili pričakovano nizki. Kljub osredotočenosti na opis raznolikosti RNA virusnih zaporedij, smo v vseh vzorcih slovenskih ledenikov najbolj pogosto zaznali virusne odčitke, ki so pripadali DNA bakteriofagom, klasificiranim v svet Duplodnaviria. Virusna zaporedja odkrita v vzorcih slovenskih ledenikov so večinoma izkazovala nizke identitete z znanimi virusnimi zaporedji iz podatkovnih baz, kar kaže na prisotnost številnih novih virusnih vrst. Daljša sestavljena virusna zaporedja verjetno predstavljajo celotne genome novo odkritih RNA virusov (npr. virusna zaporedja iz skupine toti-podobnih in picorna-podobnih virusov). Za taka zaporedja smo s filogenetskimi analizami pokazali, katerim znanim virusom so najbolj sorodni in kakšne organizme potencialno okužujejo. Raziskava viroma slovenskih ledenikov predstavlja prvi vpogled v prisotnost virusov v teh okoljih pri nas in razkriva, da se v njih skriva velika in neraziskana raznolikost teh bioloških entitetTEXTznanstveno časopisjejournalsSlovenian National E-content AggregatorNational and University Library of SloveniaSlovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)