Virus decomposition provides an important contribution to benthic deep-sea ecosystem functioning.

ABSTRACT: Viruses are key biological agents of prokaryotic mortality in the world oceans, particularly in deep-sea ecosystems where nearly all of the prokaryotic C production is transformed into organic detritus. However, the extent to which the decomposition of viral particles (i.e., organic material of viral origin) influences the functioning of benthic deep-sea ecosystems remains completely unknown. Here, using various independent approaches, we show that in deep-sea sediments an important fraction of viruses, once they are released by cell lysis, undergo fast decomposition. Virus decomposition rates in deep-sea sediments are high even at abyssal depths and are controlled primarily by the extracellular enzymatic activities that hydrolyze the proteins of the viral capsids. We estimate that on a gl

SUBMITTER: Dell'Anno A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413343 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature