AUTHOR=Urayama Syun-ichi , Doi Nobutaka , Kondo Fumie , Chiba Yuto , Takaki Yoshihiro , Hirai Miho , Minegishi Yasutaka , Hagiwara Daisuke , Nunoura Takuro 

TITLE=Diverged and Active Partitiviruses in Lichen

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.561344

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.561344

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The lichen is a microbial consortium that mainly consists of fungi and either algae (Viridiplantae) or cyanobacteria. This structure also contains other bacteria, fungi, and viruses. However, RNA virus diversity associated with lichens is still unknown. Here, we analyzed RNA virus diversity in a lichen dominated by fungi and algae using dsRNA-seq technology and revealed that partitiviruses were dominant and active in the microbial consortium. The <italic>Partitiviridae</italic> sequences found in this study were classified into two genera, which have both plant- and fungi-infecting partitiviruses. This observation suggests that the lichen provides an opportunity for horizontal transfer of these partitiviruses among microbes that form the lichen consortium.</p>