Screening for ecogenomic signatures of phage-bacteria interactions in natural microbiomes exposed to environmental disturbances

• Grant number: 19/24097-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): February 24, 2020
• Effective date (End): February 23, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: João Carlos Setubal
• Grantee: Lucas Palma Perez Braga
• Supervisor: Andrew Joseph Tanentzap
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Cambridge, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/19247-0 - Unraveling the Role of Phages on the Evolution of Plant Beneficial and Pathogenic Rhizobacteria, BP.PD

Abstract

Phages, the viruses of bacteria, are capable of establishing either antagonistic or mutualistic interactions with their hosts. Evidence so far clearly demonstrates the importance of phages for microbiome functioning. However little is known about how phage-bacteria interactions at the community-level respond to environmental changes. Environmental disturbances can change microbial community diversity and functioning. Therefore, the present work aims to investigate the effects of disturbances on the balance of phage-bacteria interactions, characterize ecogenomic signatures of phage-bacteria interactions, and determine the eco-evolutionary consequences to the microbiome. To address these aims, we will apply advanced computational methods to recover genomes of bacteria and phages from large metagenomic datasets obtained from microbiomes exposed to disturbances, and will complement our understanding with microcosm experiments. The genomic data will be related to ecosystem-level measures, such as bacterial productivity, greenhouse gas emissions, and molecular fingerprinting of dissolved organic matter. With the present study we expect to discover novel mechanisms governing microbial resources and dynamics of biogeochemical cycles, as well as improve our predictability over the evolution of microbial traits in natural systems exposed to disturbances. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BRAGA, LUCAS P. P.; COUTINHO, FELIPE H.; AMGARTEN, DEYVID E.; KOT, WITOLD; HANSEN, LARS; SETUBAL, JOAO C.; PHILIPPOT, LAURENT. Novel virocell metabolic potential revealed in agricultural soils by virus-enriched soil metagenome analysis. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS, v. 13, n. 3, p. 348-354, JUN 2021. (18/19247-0, 19/24097-0)

THOMPSON, LAUREN M.; KUHN, MCKENZIE A.; WINDER, JOHANNA C.; BRAGA, LUCAS P. P.; HUTCHINS, RYAN H. S.; TANENTZAP, ANDREW J.; ST. LOUIS, VINCENT L.; OLEFELDT, DAVID. Controls on methylmercury concentrations in lakes and streams of peatland-rich catchments along a 1700 km permafrost gradient. Limnology and Oceanography, v. N/A, p. 15-pg., 2023-01-18. (19/24097-0, 18/19247-0)

BRAGA, LUCAS P. P.; ORLAND, CHLOE; EMILSON, ERIK J. S.; FITCH, AMELIA A.; OSTERHOLZ, HELENA; DITTMAR, THORSTEN; BASILIKO, NATHAN; MYKYTCZUK, NADIA C. S.; TANENTZAP, ANDREW J.. Viruses direct carbon cycling in lake sediments under global change. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. 119, n. 41, p. 12-pg., 2022-10-11. (19/24097-0, 18/19247-0)