Metatranscriptomic analysis reveals dissimilarity in viral community activity between an ice-free and ice-covered winter in Lake Erie.

ABSTRACT: Winter is a relatively under-studied season in freshwater ecology. The paucity of wintertime surveys has led to a lack of knowledge regarding microbial community activity during the winter in Lake Erie, a North American Great Lake. Viruses shape microbial communities and regulate biogeochemical cycles by acting as top-down controls, yet very few efforts have been made to examine active virus populations during the winter in Lake Erie. Furthermore, climate change-driven declines in seasonal ice cover have been shown to influence microbial community structure, but no studies have compared viral community activity between different ice cover conditions. We surveyed surface water metatranscriptomes for viral hallmark genes as a proxy for active virus populations and compared activity metrics b

SUBMITTER: Denison ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11264689 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature