Morphological characterization of virus-like particles in coral reef sponges.

ABSTRACT: Marine sponges host complex microbial consortia that vary in their abundance, diversity and stability amongst host species. While our understanding of sponge-microbe interactions has dramatically increased over the past decade, little is known about how sponges and their microbial symbionts interact with viruses, the most abundant entities in the ocean. In this study, we employed three transmission electron microscopy (TEM) preparation methods to provide the first comprehensive morphological assessment of sponge-associated viruses. The combined approaches revealed 50 different morphologies of viral-like particles (VLPs) represented across the different sponge species. VLPs were visualized within sponge cells, within the sponge extracellular mesohyl matrix, on the sponge ectoderm and within

SUBMITTER: Pascelli C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6195793 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature