Viral communities on the sandstone monuments of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Preah Vihear in Cambodia

Abstract

Viruses are ubiquitous and ecologically important, but fewer information is available for heritage. In this report, we analyzed the taxonomy and metabolic potentials of viruses on three globally renowned monuments, namely Angkor Wat (AW), Bayon Temple (Bayon Temple Entrance, BTE), Bayon temple Gallery No. 25 (BayonG25), and Preah Vihear (PV) in Cambodia by metagenomic sequencing and analysis. Virus species characterization results show that vast majority of them on these stone cultural heritage are unclassified, with a tiny small fraction affiliated with Siphoviridea. Results of auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) analyses revealed a wide range of metabolic potentials of these viruses, with cofactor and vitamin metabolism being detected at all sampling sites, suggesting that viruses may play an important role in the microbial biofilm formation, development and energy metabolism.