The Viral Susceptibility of the Haloferax Species

Viruses can infect members of all three domains of life. However, little is known about viruses infecting archaea and the mechanisms that determine their host interactions are poorly understood. Investigations of molecular mechanisms of viral infection rely on genetically accessible virus-host model systems. Euryarchaea belonging to the genus Haloferax are interesting models, as a reliable genetic system and versatile microscopy methods are available. However, only one virus infecting the Haloferax species is currently available. In this study, we tested similar to 100 haloarchaeal virus isolates for their infectivity on 14 Haloferax strains. From this, we identified 10 virus isolates in total capable of infecting Haloferax strains, which represented myovirus or siphovirus morphotypes. Surprisingly, the only susceptible strain of all 14 tested was Haloferax gibbonsii LR2-5, which serves as an auspicious host for all of these 10 viruses. By applying comparative genomics, we shed light on factors determining the host range of haloarchaeal viruses on Haloferax. We anticipate our study to be a starting point in the study of haloarchaeal virus-host interactions.

Automated summary

Viruses can infect members of all three domains of life, but little is known about viruses infecting archaea and their mechanisms of host interactions. In this study, researchers tested nearly 100 haloarchaeal virus isolates and identified 10 isolates capable of infecting Haloferax strains, with only one strain being susceptible to all 10 viruses. Comparative genomics was used to shed light on the factors determining the host range of haloarchaeal viruses on Haloferax.