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Biodiversity and biogeography of phages in modern stromatolites and thrombolites

Author

Listed:
  • Christelle Desnues

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Beltran Rodriguez-Brito

    (Department of Biology,
    Computational Sciences Research Center,)

  • Steve Rayhawk

    (Department of Biology,
    Computational Sciences Research Center,)

  • Scott Kelley

    (Department of Biology,
    Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA)

  • Tuong Tran

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Matthew Haynes

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Hong Liu

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Mike Furlan

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Linda Wegley

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Betty Chau

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Yijun Ruan

    (Genome Institute of Singapore)

  • Dana Hall

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Florent E. Angly

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Robert A. Edwards

    (Department of Biology,
    Computational Sciences Research Center,
    Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA
    Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA)

  • Linlin Li

    (Department of Biology,)

  • Rebecca Vega Thurber

    (Department of Biology,)

  • R. Pamela Reid

    (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33149, USA)

  • Janet Siefert

    (Rice University, Houston, Texas 77251, USA)

  • Valeria Souza

    (Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México AP 70-275 Coyoacán)

  • David L. Valentine

    (University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

  • Brandon K. Swan

    (University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA)

  • Mya Breitbart

    (College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA)

  • Forest Rohwer

    (Department of Biology,
    Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA)

Abstract

Living fossils Stromatolites are living, layered structures formed in shallow waters by a combination of microbial biofilms — usually of blue-green algae — and granular deposits. They are rare today but for about 2 billion years, following their arrival in the fossil record 3.5 billion years ago, they are the main evidence of life on Earth. Modern stromatolites still look like their fossilized forebears. But are the modern microbes remnants of ancient ecosystems or just latecomers following a similar lifestyle? A metagenomic study of the bacteriophage communities in modern stromatolites and thrombolites (like stromatolites but with an irregular internal structure) shows that stromatolite-associated phages are very different from each other and from any other ecosystem studied so far. This finding strengthens the hypothesis that modern stromatolites are remnants of ancient ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Christelle Desnues & Beltran Rodriguez-Brito & Steve Rayhawk & Scott Kelley & Tuong Tran & Matthew Haynes & Hong Liu & Mike Furlan & Linda Wegley & Betty Chau & Yijun Ruan & Dana Hall & Florent E. Ang, 2008. "Biodiversity and biogeography of phages in modern stromatolites and thrombolites," Nature, Nature, vol. 452(7185), pages 340-343, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:452:y:2008:i:7185:d:10.1038_nature06735
    DOI: 10.1038/nature06735
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