The archaeal superphylum DPANN (an acronym formed from the initials of the first five phyla discovered: Diapherotrites, Parvarchaeota, Aenigmarchaeota, Nanohaloarchaeota and Nanoarchaeota) is a group of ultrasmall symbionts able to survive in extreme ecosystems. The diversity and dynamics between DPANN archaea and their virome remain largely unknown. Here we use a metagenomic clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) screening approach to identify 97 globally distributed, non-redundant viruses and unclassified mobile genetic elements predicted to infect hosts across 8 DPANN phyla, including 7 viral groups not previously characterized. Genomic analysis suggests a diversity of viral morphologies including head-tailed, tailless icosahedral and spindle-shaped viruses with the potential to establish lytic, chronic or lysogenic infections. We also find evidence of a virally encoded Cas12f1 protein (probably originating from uncultured DPANN archaea) and a mini-CRISPR array, which could play a role in modulating host metabolism. Many metagenomes have virus-to-host ratios >10, indicating that DPANN viruses play an important role in controlling host populations. Overall, our study illuminates the underexplored diversity, functional repertoires and host interactions of the DPANN virome.

古细菌超门 DPANN（由发现的前五个门的首字母缩写组成：Diapherotrites、Parvarchaeota、Aenigmarchaeota、Nanohaloarchaeota 和 Nanoarchaeota）是一组能够在极端生态系统中生存的超小型共生体。DPANN 古细菌及其病毒组之间的多样性和动力学在很大程度上仍然未知。在这里，我们使用宏基因组成簇规则间隔短回文重复序列 （CRISPR） 筛选方法来识别 97 种全球分布的、非冗余的病毒和未分类的移动遗传元件，预测会感染 8 个 DPANN 门的宿主，包括 7 个以前未表征的病毒组。基因组分析表明病毒形态多种多样，包括头尾、无尾二十面体和纺锤形病毒，有可能建立溶出性、慢性或溶原性感染。我们还发现了病毒编码的 Cas12f1 蛋白（可能源自未培养的 DPANN 古细菌）和微型 CRISPR 阵列的证据，这可能在调节宿主代谢中发挥作用。许多宏基因组的病毒与宿主比为 >10，表明 DPANN 病毒在控制宿主种群中起着重要作用。总体而言，我们的研究阐明了 DPANN 病毒组未被充分探索的多样性、功能库和宿主相互作用。