@article{PAR00010415,
  title = {{V}iruses in the desert : a metagenomic survey of viral communities in four perennial ponds of the {M}auritanian {S}ahara},
  author = {{F}ancello, {L}. and {T}rape, {S}. and {R}obert, {C}. and {B}oyer, {M}. and {P}opgeorgiev, {N}. and {R}aoult, {D}idier and {D}esnues, {C}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{H}ere, we present the first metagenomic study of viral communities from four perennial ponds (gueltas) located in the central {S}ahara ({M}auritania). {T}hree of the four gueltas ({II}ij, {M}olomhar and {H}amdoun) are located at the source of three different wadis belonging to the same hydrologic basin, whereas the fourth ({E}l {B}erbera) belongs to a different basin. {O}verall, sequences belonging to tailed bacteriophages were the most abundant in all four metagenomes although electron microscopy and sequencing confirmed the presence of other viral groups, such as large {DNA} viruses. {W}e observed a decrease in the local viral biodiversity in {E}l {B}erbera, a guelta with sustained human activities, compared with the pristine {II}ij and {M}olomhar, and sequences related to viruses infecting crop pests were also detected as a probable consequence of the agricultural use of the soil. {H}owever, the structure of the {E}l {B}erbera viral community shared the common global characteristics of the pristine gueltas, that is, it was dominated by {M}yoviridae and, more particularly, by virulent phages infecting photosynthetic cyanobacteria, such as {P}rochlorococcus and {S}ynechococcus spp. {I}n contrast, the {H}amdoun viral community was characterized by a larger proportion of phages with the potential for a temperate lifestyle and by dominant species related to phages infecting heterotrophic bacteria commonly found in terrestrial environments. {W}e hypothesized that the differences observed in the structural and functional composition of the {H}amdoun viral community resulted from the critically low water level experienced by the guelta.},
  keywords = {viral metagenomics ; giant virus ; {S}ahara desert ; perennial water pond ; {M}auritania ; {A}drar plateau ; {MAURITANIE} ; {SAHARA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{I}sme {J}ournal},
  volume = {7},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {359--369},
  ISSN = {1751-7362},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.1038/ismej.2012.101},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00010415},
}