Open AccessHigh abundances of cyanomyoviruses in marine ecosystems demonstrate ecological relevance
Author(s) -
Matteson Audrey R.,
Rowe Janet M.,
Ponsero Alise J.,
Pimentel Tiana M.,
Boyd Philip W.,
Wilhelm Steven W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12060
Subject(s) - prochlorococcus , synechococcus , biology , sargasso sea , phytoplankton , oceanography , ocean gyre , transect , bloom , ecology , abundance (ecology) , seawater , subtropics , cyanobacteria , nutrient , bacteria , genetics , geology
The distribution of cyanomyoviruses was estimated using a quantitative PCR (q PCR ) approach that targeted the g20 gene as a proxy for phage. Samples were collected spatially during a > 3000 km transect through the S argasso S ea and temporally during a gyre‐constrained phytoplankton bloom within the southern P acific O cean. C yanomyovirus abundances were lower in the S argasso S ea than in the southern P acific O cean, ranging from 2.75 × 10 3 to 5.15 × 10 4 mL −1 and correlating with the abundance of their potential hosts ( P rochlorococcus and S ynechococcus ). Cyanomyovirus abundance in the southern P acific O cean (east of N ew Z ealand) followed S ynechococcus host populations in the system: this included a decrease in g20 gene copies (from 4.3 × 10 5 to 9.6 × 10 3 mL −1 ) following the demise of a S ynechococcus bloom. When compared with direct counts of viruses, observations suggest that the cyanomyoviruses comprised 0.5 to >25% of the total virus community. We estimated daily lysis rates of 0.2–46% of the standing stock of S ynechococcus in the P acific O cean compared with c . < 1.0% in the S argasso S ea. In total, our observations confirm this family of viruses is abundant in marine systems and that they are an important source of cyanobacterial mortality.