[Plantsci] SPLS Tuesday Seminar – Today - Dr. Bonnie Hurwitz, University of Arizona

[Xiong, Zhongguo - (zxiong)]

Dear all,

Please join us in Marley 230 at 4:00 PM today for a seminar presented by Dr. Bonnie Hurwitz from the Department of Biosystem Engineering, with Dr. Alonso Favela as the host.

Zoom link<https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714?pwd=IQ994mWIPwbsRKMnfF9sERx5sNtv4m.1>: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714 (password: SPLS24).
Refreshments will be provided in the Marley Lobby at 3:30 PM.

Title: Finding novel viruses in lichen metagenomes

Abstract: Viruses infect all domains of life and are highly adapted to their host and their environmental niches. Despite the growing body of research on the role and impact of bacteriophage populations across various ecosystems, identifying viral sequences within large metagenomic datasets remains a significant challenge. The absence of a universal gene marker for viruses means that bioinformatics methods often depend on sequence homology searches against reference genome databases. Recent advances in bioinformatics have introduced machine learning-based tools designed to identify features indicative of phage origin, aiming to uncover previously unknown viral sequences. Here, we evaluate different machine-learning methods to investigate novel viral communities associated with lichens. Lichens form a highly diverse group, with more than 20,000 different known species and are able to colonize a vast range of habitats. These complex composite organisms arise from the mutualistic relationship of an algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi. In this context, the potential role of viruses is currently unknown and largely unexplored. We apply cutting edge bioinformatic tools to detect viruses in a collection of lichen metagenomes, to investigate the diversity of the viral population associated with lichens and their role in the complex mutualistic association forming lichens.

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Zhongguo Xiong
School of Plant Sciences       BIO5 Institute
BIO5                           Email: zxiong at arizona.edu<mailto:zxiong at arizona.edu>
                               Phone: (520)-621-9869
Forbes 303, P.O. box 210036    Fax: (520)-621-7186
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036          http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong
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