Evolution and diversity of the Microviridae viral family through a collection of 81 new complete genomes assembled from virome reads.

Recent studies suggest that members of the Microviridae (a family of ssDNA bacteriophages) might play an important role in a broad spectrum of environments, as they were found dominant among the viral fraction from seawater and human gut samples. 24 completely sequenced Microviridae have been described so far, divided into three distinct groups named Microvirus, Gokushovirinae and Alpavirinae, this last group being only composed of prophages. In this study, we present the analysis of 81 new complete Microviridae genomes, assembled from viral metagenomes originating from various ecosystems. The phylogenetic analysis of the core genes concludes to the existence of four groups, confirming the three sub-families described so far and exhibiting a new group, named Pichovirinae. The genomic organizations of these viruses are strikingly coherent with their phylogeny, the Pichovirinae being the only group of this family with a different organization of the three core genes. Analysis of the struc...