Presenter
Madison Bohan
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Viruses are microscopic infectious agents that can infect all living organisms and are found in every ecosystem on Earth. Despite this abundance, viral communities in deep-sea environments remain understudied. Hydrothermal vent systems are a unique environment of study due to high pressure, extreme temperatures, and lack of sunlight that make environments uninhabitable except for specialized organisms. The goal of this study is to characterize viral families at Axial Seamount and improve our understanding of viral diversity in deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems. A team of researchers conducted a research cruise along the Pacific Ridge to sample multiple hydrothermal vent systems. Water samples collected during the cruise were processed to enrich for viral particles, and metagenomic sequences were generated from these samples. Utilizing these sequences, multiple bioinformatic techniques were applied to identify and classify viral families , providing an insight as to how they function within an ecosystem. In this study, dsDNA phage were identified as the most abundant type of virus present across vent sites. Viral sequences were assessed for auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) which provides evolutionary advantages to both host and virus fitness. The majority of AMGs identified were nitrogen and carbon utilization, suggesting adaption to the extreme environment. By understanding viral communities, this research provides clarity to the role of viruses in deep sea ecology
Faculty Mentor
Bayleigh E. Benner, Ph.D.
Academic Discipline
College of Arts & Sciences
Repository Citation
Bohan, Madison, "Viral Ecology and Taxonomy at Axial Seamount" (2026). Student Research Design & Innovation Symposium. 278.
https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/innov_symposium/278
