Dataset Information

Viral infection of algal blooms leaves a unique metabolic footprint on the dissolved organic matter in the ocean

ABSTRACT:

Algal blooms are hotspots of primary production in the ocean, forming the basis of the marine food web and fueling the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Marine viruses are key players in controlling algal bloom demise, thereby diverting algal biomass from higher trophic levels to the DOM pool, a process termed the ‘viral shunt’. To decode the metabolic footprint of the ‘viral shunt’ in the marine environment, we induced a bloom of Emiliania huxleyi and followed its succession using an untargeted exometabolomics approach. Here, we show that algal bloom succession induces dynamic changes in the exometabolic landscape. We discovered a set of novel chlorine-iodine-containing metabolites that were induced by viral infection and released during bloom demise. These metabolites were further detected in virus-infected oceanic E. huxleyi blooms. Therefore, we propose that halogenation with both chlorine and iodine is a distinct hallmark of the virus-induced DOM of E. huxleyi, providing insights into the metabolic consequences of the ‘viral shunt’ for marine DOM.

OTHER RELATED OMICS DATASETS IN: PXD018322PXD006154

INSTRUMENT(S): Liquid Chromatography MS - negative - reverse phase, Liquid Chromatography MS - positive - reverse phase

SUBMITTER: Guy Schleyer

PROVIDER: MTBLS1720 | MetaboLights | 2021-05-05

REPOSITORIES: MetaboLights

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Publications

Viral infection of algal blooms leaves a unique metabolic footprint on the dissolved organic matter in the ocean.

Kuhlisch Constanze C Schleyer Guy G Shahaf Nir N Vincent Flora F Schatz Daniella D Vardi Assaf A

Science advances 20210618 25

Algal blooms are hotspots of primary production in the ocean, forming the basis of the marine food web and fueling the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Viruses are key players in controlling algal demise, thereby diverting biomass from higher trophic levels to the DOM pool, a process termed the "viral shunt." To decode the metabolic footprint of the viral shunt in the environment, we induced a bloom of <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> and followed its succession using untargeted exometabolomics. We ...[more]

PMID: 34144983

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Project description:Unicellular algae, termed phytoplankton, greatly impact the marine environment by serving as the basis of marine food webs and by playing central roles in biogeochemical cycling of elements. The interactions between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria affect the fitness of both partners. It is becoming increasingly understood that metabolic exchange determines the nature of such interactions, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, we investigated the molecular and metabolic basis for the bacterial lifestyle switch, from coexistence to pathogenicity, in Sulfitobacter D7 during interactions with Emiliania huxleyi, a cosmopolitan bloom-forming phytoplankter. The interaction displays two distinct phases: first, there is a coexisting phase in which the alga grows exponentially and the bacterium grows as well. The interaction shifts to pathogenic when the virulence of Sulfitobacter D7 towards E. huxleyi is invoked upon exposure to high concentrations of algal dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which occurs when the algae reach stationary growth or when DMSP is applied exogenously to algae in exponential growth. We aimed to unravel the response of Sulfitobacter D7 to the pathogenicity-inducing compound, DMSP, and to different algae-derived infochemicals that affect the lifestyle of the bacterium. We grew Sulfitobacter D7 in conditioned media (CM) derived from algal cultures at the different growth phases, exponential and stationary (Exp-CM and Stat-CM, respectively), in which DMSP concentration is low and high, respectively. This enabled us to separate between different phases of the interaction with E. huxleyi, i.e., Exp-CM representing the coexisting phase, and Stat-CM representing the pathogenic phase. An additional pathogenicity-inducing treatment was Exp-CM supplemented with 100 µM DMSP (herein Exp-CM+DMSP). This condition mimicked co-cultures to which we added DMSP exogenously and thus induced Sulfitobacter D7 pathogenicity, which lead to death of exponentially growing E. huxleyi. In order to identify bacterial genes that are specifically responsive to DMSP, and are not affected by other algae-derived factors, we grew Sulfitobacter D7 in defined minimal medium (MM), lacking algal metabolites, supplemented with 100 µM DMSP (herein MM+DMSP), and examined the transcriptional response. After 24 h of Sulfitobacter D7 growth in all 5 media, triplicates were taken for transcriptomic analysis. Altogether, this experimental design allowed to expand our understanding on the bacterial response to DMSP, algal infochemicals and which of these are essential for coexistence and pathogenicity.

Dataset Information

Viral infection of algal blooms leaves a unique metabolic footprint on the dissolved organic matter in the ocean

Publications

Viral infection of algal blooms leaves a unique metabolic footprint on the dissolved organic matter in the ocean.

Similar Datasets

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