Abstract Little is known about the infections of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses in fungi. Here, we use a paleovirological method to systematically identify the footprints of past dsDNA virus infections within the fungal genomes. We uncover two distinct groups of endogenous nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) in at least seven fungal phyla (accounting for about a third of known fungal phyla), revealing an unprecedented diversity of dsDNA viruses in fungi. Interestingly, one fungal dsDNA virus lineage infecting six fungal phyla is closely related to the giant virus Pithovirus, suggesting giant virus relatives might widely infect fungi. Co-speciation analyses indicate fungal NCLDVs mainly evolved through cross-species transmission. Taken together, our findings provide novel insights into the diversity and evolution of NCLDVs in fungi.

中文翻译：

---

分子化石揭示了双链DNA病毒与几种真菌门的古老关联

摘要 关于真菌中双链 DNA (dsDNA) 病毒的感染知之甚少。在这里，我们使用古病毒学方法系统地识别真菌基因组中过去 dsDNA 病毒感染的足迹。我们在至少七个真菌门（约占已知真菌门的三分之一）中发现了两组不同的内源性核质大 DNA 病毒 (NCLDV)，揭示了真菌中 dsDNA 病毒的前所未有的多样性。有趣的是，一种感染六个真菌门的真菌 dsDNA 病毒谱系与巨型病毒 Pithovirus 密切相关，这表明巨型病毒亲属可能广泛感染真菌。共同物种形成分析表明真菌 NCLDV 主要通过跨物种传播进化。总之，我们的发现为真菌中 NCLDV 的多样性和进化提供了新的见解。