Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The Southern Ocean microbial ecosystem, with its pronounced seasonal shifts, is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Since viruses are key modulators of microbial abundance, diversity, and evolution, we need a better understanding of the effects of seasonality on the viruses in this region. Our comprehensive exploration of viral diversity in the Southern Ocean revealed a unique and largely uncharted viral landscape, of which 75% was previously unidentified in other oceanic areas. We uncovered novel viral taxa at high taxonomic ranks, expanding our understanding of crassphage, polinton-like virus, and virophage diversity. Our results indicate that Nucleocytoviricota viruses are an important and diverse group of Antarctic viruses, which regulate phytoplankton population dynamics. Our temporal analysis reveals complex seasonal patterns in viral populations, highlighting the interplay between bacteriophages, eukaryotic viruses, and their microbial hosts, whilst deepening our understanding of their roles in the world's most sensitive and rapidly changing ecosystem.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Funders: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Natural Environment Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, British Antarctic Survey, H2020 European Research Council, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: G1740708235, Understanding (harmful) virus-host interactions by linking virology and bioinformatics, G281949974, Understanding (harmful) virus-host interactions by linking virology and bioinformatics, G3345895242, Polar marine viral diversity and dynamics, Predicting the evolution of complex phage-host interactions, G434337789, G5367475645, G5998035708, EXC 2051: Balance of the Microverse, G7358480839, G7984235579, HavePhAIth: Human phage therapy against the ESKAPE pathogens using AI
OpenAlex ID: W4403706899