Viruses of Archaea: what we can learn from them

Archaea are present in environments that resemble early Earth, have revealed novel lineages that are possible relics of an ancient past and offer insight into cellular evolution. By comparison, the evolution of viruses, including their origin and relationship to other extrachromosomal elements and ancestral cellular life, is less certain. I have been studying viruses from diverse ‘extreme’ environments including hot springs and Antarctic lakes and discovered novel viruses and extrachromosomal elements possessing unique morphologies, genome content and interactions with their hosts. My studies aim to improve our understanding of viral evolution and virus-host relationships.