Double-stranded DNA virioplankton dynamics and reproductive strategies in the oligotrophic open ocean water column.

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities are critical to ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemical cycling in the open oceans. Viruses are essential elements of these communities, influencing the productivity, diversity, and evolution of cellular hosts. To further explore the natural history and ecology of open-ocean viruses, we surveyed the spatiotemporal dynamics of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses in both virioplankton and bacterioplankton size fractions in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, one of the largest biomes on the planet. Assembly and clustering of viral genomes revealed a peak in virioplankton diversity at the base of the euphotic zone, where virus populations and host species richness both reached their maxima. Simultaneous characterization of both extracellular and intracellular viruses sugge

SUBMITTER: Luo E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7174320 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature