Diversity of polar viruses and their potential roles in marine biogeochemical cycling

The the polar regions of Earth—comprising the Arctic and Antarctic—represent extreme environments where viruses play pivotal yet understudied ecological roles. Viruses, as the most abundant biological entities, significantly influence microbial communities through processes such as host lysis, horizontal gene transfer, and metabolic reprogramming. In polar regions, viruses modulate the dynamics of microbial life, affecting nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, crucial for global climate regulation. Additionally, viruses can drive the evolution of microbial populations by introducing genetic diversity, thereby shaping ecosystem resilience in these harsh environments. Here we showed our studies about viral diversity and its ecological roles in these distinct ecosystems, based on the integrative studies employing metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and viral isolation to unravel the complex viral ecology across Earth's polar regions. Such insights are essential for understanding the broader implications of viruses in the context of biogeochemical cycles, global ecology and climate change.