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High potential for temperate viruses to drive carbon cycling in chemoautotrophy‐dominated shallow‐water hydrothermal vents
Author(s) -
Rastelli Eugenio,
Corinaldesi Cinzia,
Dell'Anno Antonio,
Tangherlini Michael,
Martorelli Eleonora,
Ingrassia Michela,
Chiocci Francesco L.,
Lo Martire Marco,
Danovaro Roberto
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.13890
Subject(s) - biology , hydrothermal vent , biogeochemical cycle , ecology , trophic level , food web , microbial food web , carbon cycle , ecosystem , temperate climate , nutrient cycle , heterotroph , primary producers , hydrothermal circulation , nutrient , bacteria , paleontology , genetics , phytoplankton
Summary Viruses are the most abundant life forms in the world's oceans and they are key drivers of biogeochemical cycles, but their impact on the microbial assemblages inhabiting hydrothermal vent ecosystems is still largely unknown. Here, we analysed the viral life strategies and virus‐host interactions in the sediments of a newly discovered shallow‐water hydrothermal field of the Mediterranean Sea. Our study reveals that temperate viruses, once experimentally induced to replicate, can cause large mortality of vent microbes, significantly reducing the chemoautotrophic carbon production, while enhancing the metabolism of microbial heterotrophs and the re‐cycling of the organic matter. These results provide new insights on the factors controlling primary and secondary production processes in hydrothermal vents, suggesting that the inducible provirus‐host interactions occurring in these systems can profoundly influence the functioning of the microbial food web and the efficiency in the energy transfer to the higher trophic levels.