Metagenomic analysis of microbial mat of hot springs

In this study we have employed the metagenome data from microbial mat (n = 2) and sediment (n = 4) samples to reconstruct 65 bacteriophages and four potential phage hosts to demonstrate the interactions between predator-host across Manikaran hot springs. Both sediment and mat phages were implicated in contributing towards bacterial pathogenicity, genome flexibility and stress tolerance via genetic exchanges of ORFs encoding for virulence, integrases/transposases, arsenic resistance related proteins etc. This study performed across Himalayan hot springs at Manikaran provides deeper insights into the ecological role of phages at geothermal environments in carrying out genetic exchanges and shaping host community composition.