Enhanced mutualistic symbiosis between soil phages and bacteria with elevated chromium-induced environmental stress

Abstract Background Microbe–virus interactions have broad implications on the composition, function, and evolution of microbiomes. Elucidating effects environmental stresses these is critical to identify ecological function viral communities understand microbiome adaptation. Heavy metal-contaminated soils represent a relevant ecosystem study interplay between microbes, viruses, stressors. Results Metagenomic analysis revealed that Cr pollution adversely altered abundance, diversity, composition bacterial communities. Host–phage linkage based CRISPR indicated that, in with high contamination, abundance phages associated heavy metal-tolerant hosts increased, as did relative host ranges (identified host–phage linkages across genera), which would facilitate transfection broader distribution metal resistance genes community. Examining variations along pollutant gradient, enhanced mutualistic phage–bacterium were observed face greater stresses. Specifically, fractions lysogens by integrase within genomes prophage induction assay mitomycin-C) positively correlated contamination levels. Furthermore, genomic demonstrated lysogenic under higher Cr-induced carried more auxiliary metabolic regulating microbial detoxification. Conclusion With intensification stresses, replication strategy, phage community all evolve alongside adapt extreme habitats. These result transformation interaction from parasitism mutualism environments underscore influential role adaptation pollution-related stress related biogeochemical processes.