The Effect of Strain Level Diversity on Robust Inference of Virus-Induced Mortality of Phytoplankton.

ABSTRACT: Infection and lysis of phytoplankton by viruses affects population dynamics and nutrient cycles within oceanic microbial communities. However, estimating the quantitative rates of viral-induced lysis remains challenging in situ. The modified dilution method is the most commonly utilized empirical approach to estimate virus-induced killing rates of phytoplankton. The lysis rate estimates of the modified dilution method are based on models which assume virus-host interactions can be represented by a single virus and a single host population with homogeneous life-history traits. Here, using modeling approaches, we examine the robustness of the modified dilution method in multi-strain, complex communities. We assume that strains differ in their life history traits, including growth rate

SUBMITTER: Beckett SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6129610 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature