The family Asfarviridae is a group of nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) of which African swine fever virus (ASFV) is well-characterized. Recently the discovery of several Asfarviridae members other than ASFV has suggested that this family represents a diverse and cosmopolitan group of viruses, but the genomics and distribution of this family have not been studied in detail. To this end we analyzed five complete genomes and 35 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of viruses from this family to shed light on their evolutionary relationships and environmental distribution. The Asfarvirus MAGs derive from diverse marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, underscoring the broad environmental distribution of this family. We present phylogenetic analyses using conserved marker genes and whole-genome comparison of pairwise average amino acid identity (AAI) values, revealing a high level of genomic divergence across disparate Asfarviruses. Further, we found that Asfarviridae genomes encode genes with diverse predicted metabolic roles and detectable sequence homology to proteins in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, highlighting the genomic chimerism that is a salient feature of NCLDV. Our read mapping from Tara oceans metagenomic data also revealed that three Asfarviridae MAGs were present in multiple marine samples, indicating that they are widespread in the ocean. In one of these MAGs we identified four marker genes with > 95% AAI to genes sequenced from a virus that infects the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama (HcDNAV). This suggests a potential host for this MAG, which would thereby represent a reference genome of a dinoflagellate-infecting giant virus. Together, these results show that Asfarviridae are ubiquitous, comprise similar sequence divergence as other NCLDV families, and include several members that are widespread in the ocean and potentially infect ecologically important protists.

glomalin-related soil protein, soil enzymatic activities, and microbial community structure. The soil OM content in HSP (64 g kg −1 ) was greater (p < 0.05) than BSP and OP (55 g kg −1 ). The BSP soils had about 45% and 52% more (p < 0.05) microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen than OP soils. The HSP soils had 60% greater (p < 0.05) microbial biomass nitrogen than OP soils. The BSP supported greater (p < 0.05) β-glucosidase and urease activities than the HSP and OP treatments, while greater (p < 0.05) β-glucosidase activity was measured in HSP than OP. Total phospholipid-derived fatty acid and actinomycetes abundance were greater (p < 0.001) in OP compared to BSP and HSP while the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi abundance was greater (p < 0.05) in OP than in HSP. These findings indicate that black walnut and honeylocust trees in the silvopastures with proper management can improve certain soil health parameters over time depending on tree characteristics and the age of the system.

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Members of the phylumNucleocytoviricota, also called “giant viruses” due to their large physical dimensions and genome lengths, are a diverse group of dsDNA viruses that infect a wide range of eukaryotic hosts. Nucleocytoviruses likely evolved from smaller viruses, but the timing of their emergence and its relationship to the early evolution of eukaryotes remains unclear. Recent work has shown that the genomes of nucleocytoviruses often encode Eukaryotic Signature Proteins (ESPs) - including histones, vesicular trafficking factors, cytoskeletal components, and elements of RNA and DNA processing - that occur only rarely outside of eukaryotes. To investigate patterns of gene exchange between viruses and eukaryotes and possibly shed light on the early evolution of both, we examined the occurrence of viral-encoded ESPs (vESPs) and performed a comprehensive phylogenetic reconstruction on a subset that are widespread in nucleocytoviruses. Our results demonstrate that vESPs involved in cytoskeletal structure, ubiquitin system, and vesicular trafficking were acquired multiple times independently by nucleocytoviruses at different timepoints after the emergence of the eukaryotic supergroups. In contrast, vESPs involved in DNA and RNA processing are placed deep in their respective phylogenies, indicative of ancient gene exchange between nucleocytoviruses and eukaryotes. Examination of vESPs that could be rooted in archaea revealed that nucleocytoviruses likely acquired some of these genes prior to the emergence of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). Importantly, our findings also suggest that the eukaryotic delta DNA polymerase was acquired from nucleocytoviruses sometime during eukaryogenesis, underscoring the importance of viruses for early eukaryotic evolution. Collectively, these results suggest that gene exchange between nucleocytoviruses and eukaryotes played important roles in the evolution of both prior to the emergence of LECA.

Marketers spend a massive amount on various media platforms to influence consumer behavior. Advertisement on every media platform has a different component that involves the Consumer for different purposes. Technological innovation has led to changes in Consumer's media habits. Hence, a deeper understanding of advertisements on various media platforms, and their implications on consumer behavior needs to be established. This study aims to examine the relationship between advertisement dimensions such as printing, broadband, outdoor and social media, and consumer purchasing behavior. Data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire by email and direct interviews with the consumers located in Kathmandu valley. The findings revealed that the advertisement media dimensions had a strong correlation with consumer purchasing behavior. It also indicated that printing, outdoor and social media were statistically significant, and broadband media were found to be statistically insignificant with consumers 'purchase behavior