Metavirome datasets from two endemic Baikal sponges .

Sponges are ecologically important components of marine and freshwater benthic environments; these holobionts contain a variety of microorganisms and viruses. For the metagenomic characterization of potential taxonomic and functional diversity of sponge-associated dsDNA viruses, we surveyed two samples of Baikal endemic sponge (diseased and visually healthy). In total, after quality processing, we have obtained 3 375 063 and 4 063 311 reads; of these 97 557 and 88 517 sequences, accounting for ca.

A new species of Baikal endemic sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Spongillida, Lubomirskiidae).

This paper reports on a new species of the Baikal endemic sponge (fam. Lubomirskiidae) The description of this species is based on morphological and molecular data (ITS and mitochondrial IGRs). Morphologically, differs from by loose tracts arranged in an irregular network as well as the presence on strongyles of compound spines looking like tubercles densely ornamented with simple spines.

Small inverted repeats drive mitochondrial genome evolution in Lake Baikal sponges.

Demosponges, the largest and most diverse class in the phylum Porifera, possess mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markedly different from that in other animals. Although several studies investigated evolution of demosponge mtDNA among major lineages of the group, the changes within these groups remain largely unexplored. Recently we determined mitochondrial genomic sequence of the Lake Baikal sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis and described proliferation of small inverted repeats (hairpins) that occurred in it since the divergence between L.