Abstract

LOPEZ-PEREZ, Marcos  and  FERNANDEZ, Francisco José. Metaviromics in water bodies: past, present and future perspectives. Hidrobiológica [online]. 2013, vol.23, n.3, pp.287-302. ISSN 0188-8897.

Viruses are the most abundant organisms in the biosphere. Because of their versatility to infect all types of organisms and their status as obligate intracellular parasites, they have important effects on ecosystem dynamics. Identification and analysis of interactions in viral communities is a hard work, due to the inherent difficulty in culturing these microorganisms. Furthermore, the lack of conserved DNA sequences among groups precludes identification of the viruses by using rDNA technology, as the current molecular standard for the identification of living organisms. Metagenomics arises as an alternative to the molecular characterization of the virus in its natural environments, which yields information relevant to its composition and structure. In this article, we review the role of viruses in aquatic ecosystems, in addition to emphasizing the importance of proper implementation of these metagenomic techniques. Finally, we review the main tools for the treatment of the obtained metagenomic data.

Keywords : Genetic stock; metaviromics; ecological role; aquatic viruses.