Study of cyanobacteria and cyanophage diversity in high altitude South Caucasian freshwater lakes and their potential impact on the cyanobacterial harmful bloom

Bacteriophages are central to microbial ecosystems for balancing bacterial populations and promoting evolution by applying strong selection pressure. Bacteriophages of freshwater environments have not been well studied. Only few phages have been isolated for particular abundant autochtonous freshwater bacterial groups. The purpose of the current project is to study for the first time the diversity, composition, and potential functional characteristics of bacterophage community living in the Lake Sevan in Armenian and Paravani and Saghamo lakes in Georgia based on metagenomic analysis. Reaviling cyanophage diveristy and the interconnected microbial relationships are essential for understanding cyanobacteria blooms and consequential for predicting, preventing, and mitigating future cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in freshwater ecosystems.