Survey of Bacteriophages in the Tibetan Glaciers
Disciplines
Bioinformatics | Genetics and Genomics | Microbiology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Analysis of the genetic variation found within the microbial communities of the Tibetan Plateau utilizing whole genome sequencing (WGS) increases our ability to understand the evolution of life in extreme environments. Recent literature demonstrates the differences in the microbial composition of three glacial habitats found in the Tibetan Plateau, cryoconite, snow, and ice, through the utilization of the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Many of the Tibetan glaciers exist at low latitudes, making them incredibly susceptible to the effects of global warming. The reemergence of entrapped pathogenic microbes could have dangerous consequences and health risks in the future. This study aims to identify the composition of the viral genome found within the dataset discovered in a study by Liu et al. in 2022. The data used in this study was derived from run SRR18576996 from SRA accession number PRJNA813429. Quality control of the sequence reads was performed using fastp paired reads data processing on Galaxy. Kraken2 software with custom settings was used to identify the viral microbe taxonomy found within the sample. The most prevalent viral microbes identified in this sample are bacteriophages falling under the order Caudovirales. Our findings in this experiment expanded the understanding of the microbial composition found within the cryoconite of the Tibetan Plateau. Further analysis will likely reveal and allow for the identification of additional viral species and provide insight on any possible negative effects they may pose to future societies.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Molecular and Cellular Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Tsai-Tien Tseng
Survey of Bacteriophages in the Tibetan Glaciers
Analysis of the genetic variation found within the microbial communities of the Tibetan Plateau utilizing whole genome sequencing (WGS) increases our ability to understand the evolution of life in extreme environments. Recent literature demonstrates the differences in the microbial composition of three glacial habitats found in the Tibetan Plateau, cryoconite, snow, and ice, through the utilization of the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Many of the Tibetan glaciers exist at low latitudes, making them incredibly susceptible to the effects of global warming. The reemergence of entrapped pathogenic microbes could have dangerous consequences and health risks in the future. This study aims to identify the composition of the viral genome found within the dataset discovered in a study by Liu et al. in 2022. The data used in this study was derived from run SRR18576996 from SRA accession number PRJNA813429. Quality control of the sequence reads was performed using fastp paired reads data processing on Galaxy. Kraken2 software with custom settings was used to identify the viral microbe taxonomy found within the sample. The most prevalent viral microbes identified in this sample are bacteriophages falling under the order Caudovirales. Our findings in this experiment expanded the understanding of the microbial composition found within the cryoconite of the Tibetan Plateau. Further analysis will likely reveal and allow for the identification of additional viral species and provide insight on any possible negative effects they may pose to future societies.