ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Extreme Microbiology
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Survival, Adaptation, and Detection in Atmospheric EnvironmentsView all articles
Diversity of DNA Viruses in the Atmosphere of Sub-Antarctic South Georgia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- 2Max-Planck-Institut fur molekulare Genetik, Berlin, Germany
- 3Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Berlin, Germany
- 4Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, Universite de Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland
- 5Department of Ecology and Evolution, Universite de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 6Northumbria University Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- 7British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- 8Instituto de Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Antarticos y Subantarticos, Santiago, Chile
- 9University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- 10University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 11Cape Horn International Center, Cape Horn, Chile
- 12Leibniz Institut fur Altersforschung - Fritz-Lipmann Institut eV, Jena, Germany
- 13European Virus Bioinformatics Center, Jena, Germany, Jena, Germany
- 14Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linneuniversitetet, Kalmar, Sweden
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Studying airborne viruses in remote environments like the sub-Antarctic island South Georgia offers key insights into viral ecology, diversity, and their role in shaping ecosystems through microbial and nutrient interactions. We analyzed airborne viral community composition at two sites in South Georgia. Sampling took place using multiple methodologies, with the data produced subjected to viral metagenomics. The Coriolis µ device (wet collection) was the most effective, yielding 30 viral scaffolds. Two-thirds of the scaffolds were only obtained from the coastal location, indicating that location influences airborne viral diversity. Protein-based clustering of 39 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs) revealed similarities of 15 with known marine viruses, suggesting oceanic influence on the airborne viral community. Protein homologs related to UV damage protection and photosynthesis from two airborne vOTUs were widely distributed across major oceans, suggesting their potential role in supporting the resilience of marine microorganisms under changing climate conditions. Some vOTUs had protein similarities to viruses infecting extremophiles, indicating viral adaptations to harsh environments. This study provides a baseline for understanding the complexity and sustainability of airborne viral communities in remote ecosystems. It underscores the need for continued monitoring to assess how these communities respond to shifting atmospheric and ecological conditions.
Keywords: aerosol, coriolis, marine, Phage, sea, virome
Received: 16 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Das, Malard, Pearce, Convey and Rahlff. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Janina Rahlff
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