Biogeographic Variation in Host Range Phenotypes and Taxonomic Composition of Marine Cyanophage Isolates.

ABSTRACT: Despite the important role of phages in marine systems, little is understood about how their diversity is distributed in space. Biogeographic patterns of marine phages may be difficult to detect due to their vast genetic diversity, which may not be accurately represented by conserved marker genes. To investigate the spatial biogeographic structure of marine phages, we isolated over 400 cyanophages on Synechococcus host strain WH7803 at three coastal locations in the United States (Rhode Island, Washington, and southern California). Approximately 90% of the cyanophage isolates were myoviruses, while the other 10% were podoviruses. The diversity of isolates was further characterized in two ways: (i) taxonomically, using conserved marker genes and (ii) phenotypically, by testing isolates for

SUBMITTER: Hanson CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4919323 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature