Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41507173›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Co-occurrence of diverse defense systems shapes complex microbe-virus relationships in deep-sea cold seeps.

Yingchun Han, Jing Liao, Chengpeng Li, Fengmin Xing, Jiaxue Peng, Xinyue Liu, Wentao Xie, Fabai Wu, Huahua Jian, Rui Cheng and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yingchun Han *Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3964-6768
Jing Liao *Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China.
Chengpeng LiKey Laboratory of Advanced Marine Materials, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China.
Fengmin XingInstitute of Marine Biology and Pharmacology, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-7235-5556
Jiaxue PengCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
Xinyue LiuKey Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-0783-0492
Wentao XieState Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Fabai WuSchool of Life Sciences, College of Science, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5812-5621
Huahua JianState Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Development Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5507-497X
Rui ChengNational Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China. ruicheng@hzau.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4348-0350
Xiyang DongKey Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China. dongxiyang@tio.org.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9224-5923

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cold seeps host diverse microbes and viruses with numerous unexplored defense and anti-defense systems. Analysis of 3813 microbial and 13,336 viral genomes from 191 metagenomes across 17 cold seep sites reveals extensive microbial defense repertoires, with over 60% representing candidate systems. Experimental validation confirms that several candidates protect against viral infection. These defense systems frequently co-occur, suggesting potential synergistic interactions, and are broadly distributed across sediments. In response, viruses have evolved diverse anti-defense genes, and the concurrent presence of multiple viral and microbial systems highlights intricate coevolution. Functionally critical lineages, such as anaerobic methanotrophic archaea, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and diazotrophs, appear to modify their defensive strategies under ecological and environmental pressures; for example, sulfate-reducing bacteria harbor multiple Gabija systems while corresponding viruses carry anti-Gabija genes, illustrating specific coevolutionary adaptations. Overall, these findings underscore the critical role of virus-microbe interactions in shaping microbial metabolic functions and environmental adaptation in deep-sea ecosystems.

Indexed as

ArchaeaBacteriaSeawaterVirusesCold TemperatureEcosystemGenome, ViralGeologic SedimentsMetagenomePhylogeny

Identifiers

PMID41507173
PMCPMC12881386

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.