Viruses Regulate Microbial Community Assembly Together with Environmental Factors in Acid Mine Drainage
Zhenghua Liu, Ye Huang, Teng Zhang, Delong Meng, Zhen Jiang, Zhendong Yang, Zhaoyue Yang, Liangzhi Li, Yabing Gu, Jianjun Wang, Xueduan Liu, Cheng‐Ying Jiang, Huaqun Yin
Abstract
Viruses as mobile genetic elements play critical roles in the adaptive evolution of their hosts in extreme environments. However, how viruses further influence microbial community structure and assembly is still unclear. A recent metagenomic study observed diverse viruses unexplored in acid mine drainage, revealing the associations between the viral community and environmental factors. Here, we showed that viruses together with environmental factors can constrain the relative abundance of host and microbial community assembly in AMD of copper mines and polymetallic mines. Our results highlight the importance of viruses in shaping the microbial community from the individual host level to the community level.