Abstract
New approaches using high-throughput sequencing have described viral species in the gut microbiome or feces of marine mammals. In this study, we characterize a fraction of the virome using shotgun metagenomic analysis from two fresh fecal samples collected in a resting place from fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) collected in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Bacteria were predominant in the metagenomes, mainly represented by the phyla Fusobacteria (29.5%), Proteobacteria (23%), Bacteroidetes (22%), and Firmicutes (21%). We found 8,154 viral reads and, after de novo assembly, 81 viral contigs. Single-strand DNA viruses (ssDNA) were the most diverse among viral contigs (61.7%), followed by RNA viruses (29.6%) and double-strand DNA viruses (dsDNA) (8.6%), beyond detection of eleven viral families (Anelloviridae, Bacciladnaviridae, Caliciviridae, Circoviridae, Guelinviridae, Kyanoviridae, Microviridae, Nodaviridae, Pachyviridae, Parvoviridae, and Picornaviridae). Higher viral richness was observed for Microviridae family, and sequences closest related to viruses infecting invertebrates, fishes, and penguins could reveals a suggestive dietary pattern of Antarctic fur seals. Putative new Cyclovirus species was detected, beyond sequences related to Torque teno virus, Norovirus, and distinct members of Picornavirales Order. This study contributed to obtain a broader spectrum of fecal microbiome of this specific polar fauna.
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Acknowledgements
FIOANTAR Working Group (https://fioantar.fiocruz.br/equipe), Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Antarctic Program—PROANTAR and RPT04A Bioinformatics Core Facility at Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro.
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This work was partly supported by INOVA—EDITAL 2/2018—GERAÇÃO DE CONHECIMENTO [Grant Number: 4720463444], and National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq)/MCTIC/CAPES/FNDCT Nº 21/2018—PROANTAR [grant number: CNPQ 442646/2018–6]. MPM, TMF, and JPGL are CNPq fellows and got funding from CNPq; SVS—Ministry of Health n° 015/2015; and PAEF 2—Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
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TP, JPGL, MPM, WMSD, TMF: Conceptualization. TP, DAM, MGPM, LLF, LL, MLB, MC, MO, TMF: Methodology. TP, DAM, LLF: Formal Analysis. TP, DAM, LLF: Investigation. LL, JPGL, MPM, WMSD, TMF: Resources. TP: Writing Original Draft Preparation. All authors: Writing Review and Editing. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Prado, T., Moreira, D.A., Magalhães, M.G.P. et al. Viral diversity in stool samples of fur seals from Antarctica using metagenomic shotgun. Polar Biol 48, 22 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-024-03334-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-024-03334-w