Metagenomic insights into viral and microbial genes of Russian High-Arctic soil microbiomes
Beat Frey, Gilda Varliero, Joel Rüthi, Ivan Alekseev, Weihong Qi, Vasiliy Povazhnyi, Vitalii Zemlianskii, Beat Stierli, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Jessica Cuartero · 2026
Read Metagenomic insights into viral and microbial genes of Russian High-Arctic soil microbiomes by Beat Frey, Gilda Varliero, Joel Rüthi, Ivan Alekseev, Weihong Qi, Vasiliy Povazhnyi, Vitalii Zemlianskii, Beat Stierli, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Jessica Cuartero (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13269706.txt.
Description
Beat Frey and co-authors map the genes of microbes and viruses in soils from four Russian High-Arctic islands, in a 2026 study. These cold soils are extreme homes for life, and warming-driven plant spread may reshape them. The team sequenced DNA from bare and plant-covered sites at two depths and rebuilt genomes from the mix.
Deeper soils under plants were rich in genes for carbon and nitrogen cycling and energy making, hinting at richer inputs there. Bare soils carried more genes for making chemical weapons and resisting antibiotics, a sign of fierce competition where food is scarce. Virus variety fell in surface soils with plants but rose with depth, as did giant viruses. The maps help predict how Arctic soils may change as the region warms.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Beat Frey, Gilda Varliero, Joel Rüthi, Ivan Alekseev, Weihong Qi, Vasiliy Povazhnyi, Vitalii Zemlianskii, Beat Stierli, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Jessica Cuartero |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 83 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |