Genomic catalogue of giant viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential

Mock, Thomas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9604-0362 and Sullivan, Matthew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2276-3132 and GVMAGs data consortium (2026) Genomic catalogue of giant viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential. Nature Microbiology, 11 (9). pp. 2634-2646. ISSN 2058-5276

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Abstract

Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA and Mirusviricota viruses exhibit taxonomic richness which continually expands due to metagenomic sequencing. Here we curate a database of giant virus metagenome-assembled genomes (GVMAGs V2), comprising 8,508 species-level representatives from 18,727 GVMAGs, a sixfold increase from the previous giant virus phylogenetic frameworks. Phylogenomics revealed 712 previously undescribed genera, 13 previously unknown viral families and an order we propose named Mycodnavirales. By accounting for alternative and custom genetic codes, we improved gene calling in over 1,300 GVMAGs, enabling more accurate identification of protein-coding genes. Database mining uncovered putative endogenous viral elements in hosts spanning algae, fungi and parasitic protists, highlighting that giant virus integration is widespread and evolutionarily persistent. Protein-level analysis revealed enriched genes for pollutant degradation in Algavirales and widespread biosynthetic gene clusters linked to antimicrobial-like and antibiotic resistance gene-like activity. This public resource will serve as a foundation for expanding giant virus diversity, uncovering virus–host interactions and exploring viral evolution.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability: The complete dataset is available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20126600 (ref. 87) and can be explored interactively at https://gvmagdb.newlineages.com/. Nucleotide assembly files for MAGs are available via the European Nucleotide Archive under bioproject ID PRJEB113230. Source data are provided with this paper.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	microbiology,immunology,applied microbiology and biotechnology,genetics,microbiology (medical),cell biology,das in place,. nucleotide assembly files for mags are available via the european nucleotide archive under bioproject id prjeb113230. source data are provided with this paper.,2026 ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2400/2404
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
Related URLs:	https://www.scopus.com/pages/publication...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	29 Oct 2026 11:48
Last Modified:	29 Oct 2026 11:48
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104910
DOI:	10.1038/s41564-026-02435-y

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