Finding virus genomes in public datasets of fungal RNA sequences

What is it about?

Researchers use sequencing technologies to study the genetic structure of living organisms. These nucleic acid sequences are stored in public databases, and the result is tens of petabytes of data available. Fungi are one of the largest branches of the Tree of Life and are susceptible to a wide range of viruses (known as mycoviruses). However, as many mycoviruses cause asymptomatic infections, a fungal strain under study may be unknowingly infected. We hypothesized that analysis of fungal sequencing data for key signatures of RNA viruses would lead to the discovery of mycoviruses in cryptically infected fungi.

Featured Image

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Why is it important?

In this study, by confirming that mycoviral sequences are present in fungi that were not suspected to be infected, we demonstrate the importance of fully characterizing the organism under study. Experimental results can be affected by the presence of an unidentified virus. Further, as they are often overlooked, the breadth of fungal viruses remains to be explored. Indeed, this study described 52 mycoviruses for the first time.

Perspectives