An inexpensive, accurate, and precise wet-mount method for enumerating aquatic viruses.

ABSTRACT: Viruses affect biogeochemical cycling, microbial mortality, gene flow, and metabolic functions in diverse environments through infection and lysis of microorganisms. Fundamental to quantitatively investigating these roles is the determination of viral abundance in both field and laboratory samples. One current, widely used method to accomplish this with aquatic samples is the "filter mount" method, in which samples are filtered onto costly 0.02-μm-pore-size ceramic filters for enumeration of viruses by epifluorescence microscopy. Here we describe a cost-effective (ca. 500-fold-lower materials cost) alternative virus enumeration method in which fluorescently stained samples are wet mounted directly onto slides, after optional chemical flocculation of viruses in samples with viral concentrat

SUBMITTER: Cunningham BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4393455 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature