{
  "abstract": "Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) of the phyla Nucleocytoviricota and viruses of the newly proposed Duplodnaviria phylum, Mirusviricota , exhibit taxonomic richness which continues to expand due to metagenomic sequencing of Earth’s biomes. Giant viruses contain complex genomes encoding genes of both viral and cellular origin, representing a reservoir of unexplored biological functions with potential implications for ecology, evolution, and biotechnology. Here, we present the largest curated database of giant virus metagenome-assembled genomes (GVMAGs V2), comprising 8,508 species-level clusters inferred from 18,727 genomes, originating from marine, freshwater, anthropogenic and terrestrial environments, a six-fold increase from the previous giant virus phylogenetic frameworks. Phylogenomics and relative evolutionary distance analysis revealed 712 novel genera, 13 previously unknown viral families and a new proposed order, tentatively named Mycodnavirales. We improved gene calling of 12% of giant virus genomes by accounting for alternative and custom genetic codes, enabling more accurate identification of protein-coding genes. Database mining uncovered endogenous viral elements in a broad spectrum of eukaryotes, spanning algae, fungi, and parasitic protists highlighting that giant virus integration is both widespread and evolutionarily persistent. Orthologous clustering of 2.5 million proteins identified 135,998 orthogroups representing comprehensive metabolic capabilities, such as enrichment of genes involved in aromatic compound degradation (commonly associated with bioremediation) in Algavirales genomes. Furthermore, we detected widespread biosynthetic gene clusters underpinning antimicrobial activity and antibiotic resistance, suggesting roles of giant viruses in host defense and in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. Conversely, 67% of orthogroups have unknown functions, underscoring a substantial unexplored potential. This comprehensive publicly available database provides a critical resource for the giant virus research community and a foundation for uncovering virus-host interactions, exploring viral evolution, and identifying reservoirs for novel enzymes with the potential to advance biotechnological applications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. ymvasquez@lbl.gov",
    "Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy",
    "United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA",
    "Department of Applied Mathematics, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA",
    "School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA",
    "Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico",
    "School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK",
    "Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA",
    "Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA",
    "School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
    "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA",
    "College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA",
    "Microbial Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA",
    "Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA",
    "Division of Environmental and Biomolecular Systems, Institute of Environmental Health, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA",
    "Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada",
    "Biology Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada",
    "Department of Biology, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, USA",
    "School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA",
    "Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA",
    "Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA",
    "Department of Biology and Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, USA",
    "Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Thermal Biology Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA",
    "College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA",
    "Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Lasry Center for Bioscience, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA",
    "Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA",
    "United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. fschulz@lbl.gov"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 30,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yumary M. Vasquez",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6006-8873"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tiago Nardi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1248-9873"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Gbocho Masato Terasaki",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-0953-3984"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Petra K Byl",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9168-2603"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tomáš Brůna",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9811-5532"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Juan C. Villada",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2216-4279"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Miguel F. Romero"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Thomas Möck",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9604-0362"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Timothy Yong James",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1123-5986"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Katherine D. McMahon",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7038-026X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Rick Cavicchioli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Steven Hallam",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4889-6876"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Barbara Campbell",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3329-6413"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "Byron C. Crump",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7062-1273"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13
      ],
      "name": "Dana E. Hunt",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8801-9624"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        14
      ],
      "name": "Karthik Anantharaman",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9584-2491"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Holly M. Simon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "R. Michael McKay"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        17
      ],
      "name": "David A. Walsh",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9951-5447"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        18
      ],
      "name": "Joan L. Slonczewski",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3484-1564"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        19
      ],
      "name": "Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0954-4755"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        20
      ],
      "name": "David L. Valentine",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5914-9107"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        21
      ],
      "name": "Neslihan Taş",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7525-2331"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        22
      ],
      "name": "Pia H. Moisander",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3262-3662"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        23
      ],
      "name": "Roland Hatzenpichler"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        24
      ],
      "name": "Matthew B. Sullivan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8398-8234"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        25,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Sean Crowe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        26
      ],
      "name": "Nathan A. Ahlgren",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7617-4435"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        27,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tanja Woyke",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9485-5637"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        28
      ],
      "name": "Frederik Schulz",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4932-4677"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a6pz3vn1wd43.bib",
  "cited_by": 7,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41564-026-02435-y",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1a6pz3vn1wd43",
  "issns": [
    "2058-5276"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02435-y",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2303|Bacteriophages and microbial interactions"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2406|Bacteriophages and microbial interactions"
    ]
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  "openalex": "W7202340383",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-026-02435-y.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13524828",
  "pmid": "42595815",
  "published": "2026-08-13",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a6pz3vn1wd43.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T13:21:18Z",
      "native_id": "W7202340383",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02435-y"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2303|Bacteriophages and microbial interactions",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2406|Bacteriophages and microbial interactions",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Genomic catalogue of giant viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential",
  "title_text": "Genomic catalogue of giant viruses reveals expanded diversity and functional potential",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a6pz3vn1wd43",
  "venue": "Nature Microbiology",
  "versions": []
}