A team of researchers led by Nina Bartlau of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
On average, in every liter of North Sea waterthere are hundreds of thousands of tiny algae and a billion bacteria and ten billion viruses. They primarily infect bacteria and have a wide and varied impact on the environment. They kill infected cells and cause them to decay by altering gene expression or genetic material. The study now provides a fresh perspective on how these viruses live.
"Despite their importance, viruses are rarely the subject of marine research," says first author Nina Bartlau of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology.
In the course of their work, the scientists discovered many new and diverse phages in the North Sea.Phages are viruses that infect bacteria, and those that specialize in infecting flavobacteria are called flavophages.
Biologists have proven that viruses have a great influence on the death of bacteria during spring flowering.The bacteria are responsible for breaking down the remnants of microscopic algae, which releases the carbon dioxide absorbed by the algae from the atmosphere.In the future, scientists will study the relationship between viruses and the global carbon cycle.
The researchers also cultured many previously unknown viruses in the lab. "We've identified ten new genera, as well as ten new families," saysNine out of ten genera and four out of ten families did not exist in culture before.These new isolates will come in handy for experiments in the lab to expand our knowledge of flavophages and the role of viruses in the ocean."
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